Three questions that usually decide it
Was someone else at fault?
Another driver, an employer, an occupier or a manufacturer. Shared fault does not end a claim, it reduces it.
Was it in the last three years?
Scotland allows three years from the accident, or from diagnosis for an industrial disease. Children have longer.
Did you need treatment?
A GP or hospital record from the time is the single most useful piece of evidence in any claim.
Acting for injured workers across Edinburgh
Edinburgh has one of the UK’s largest hospitality workforces, a substantial construction and heritage restoration sector, and a large public sector and office population. Each carries its own risks, and each employer owes the same statutory duties.
Our Edinburgh work is led by Associate Solicitor April Meechan in our Court of Session office, supported by consultant David Sandison.
Most of what we need comes from a first phone call, and we visit at home or in hospital anywhere in the city at no cost.
Claims we take on in Edinburgh
Accidents at work
Unsafe equipment, manual handling, falls from height and inadequate training.
Read more →Road traffic accidents
Drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians.
Read more →Serious injuries
Head, brain and spinal injuries needing lifetime care and support.
Read more →Slips, trips and falls
Public places, shops, workplaces and defective pavements.
Read more →Industrial disease
Deafness, HAVS, dermatitis, asbestos and occupational asthma.
Read more →No win – no fee
We fund the claim. Nothing to pay unless we win it for you.
Read more →Where an Edinburgh work accident claim is heard
Both courts that matter for injury work sit in Edinburgh: the All-Scotland Personal Injury Court, a specialist national court for injury actions, and the Court of Session at Parliament House for the highest-value claims. Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Chambers Street handles lower-value local actions.
Most claims settle without any hearing. Employers’ liability insurers handle the claim, not your employer directly.
All-Scotland Personal Injury Court
The specialist national court for personal injury actions, sitting in Edinburgh before judges who deal only with injury work.
Court of Session
Edinburgh, at Parliament House. For the highest-value and most complex claims, including catastrophic and fatal cases.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court
Chambers Street. The local forum for lower-value actions arising in the city and the Lothians.
How people get hurt at work in Edinburgh
The pattern follows the capital’s employment base, and the Festival period intensifies several of them.
Hospitality and tourism
Kitchen burns, cellar hatch falls, wet floors and long-shift manual handling across bars, restaurants and hotels.
Construction and heritage work
Falls from height on scaffolding and tenement restoration, plus stone dust and noise exposure on heritage projects.
Public sector and healthcare
Patient and manual handling injuries where staffing, hoists or training fell short.
Warehousing and delivery
Manual handling, forklift and loading-bay injuries at distribution sites serving the city.
Offices and premises
Slips, trips, falls on stairs, and injuries from poorly maintained premises and equipment.
Events and festivals
Rigging, staging, crowd and load-in work during a festival season that puts real pressure on safe systems.
Where Edinburgh work injuries are treated
How we gather your medical evidence
The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France is the major trauma centre for the east of Scotland and handles most serious workplace injuries in the city.
Alongside medical records we obtain the accident book entry, any RIDDOR report, risk assessments, training records and any HSE investigation file.
For significant injuries we instruct an independent consultant to examine you privately at our cost.
Who would handle your claim
Edinburgh work accident claims are led by April Meechan in our Court of Session office.
Our record
A 99% success rate
Across personal injury claims, built on preparing cases properly and being honest at the outset about the ones that will not succeed.
Millions recovered
We have helped thousands of injured people win millions of pounds in compensation, from minor slips to catastrophic injury.
Referred by other solicitors
Firms in Scotland and England send us their clients’ personal injury claims, which is the endorsement we value most.
“From the very first phone call to the last they were friendly, courteous and very professional. What helped a great deal was the way they kept me informed.”
“They were so professional, courteous and diligent throughout the process. My compensation came through at the high end of my expectations.”
Scotland has its own rules and timeframes
Scots law differs from the rest of the UK in ways that matter to your claim, which is why a Scottish solicitor is worth having.
Three-year limitation
Most claims must be raised within three years of the accident, or from the date you knew an illness was work-related. Miss it and the claim is usually lost.
Pre-action protocol
Scotland operates a voluntary pre-action protocol for personal injury. It sets out timescales for insurers to investigate and respond before court is needed.
No win – no fee
We fund the cost of running your claim. If we do not win you pay nothing, and any success fee is capped and agreed with you in writing first.