Piecing evidence together brings a result

This was the situation when we were approached by Fraser Smith in respect of a motorcycle incident that he had in May 2019.

Fraser had been out riding his Yamaha R1 on the A830 towards Glenfinnan. Due to a serious head injury, Fraser’s last memory was riding his motorcycle a number of miles before. What we did know was that Fraser had lost control of his motorcycle, entered the opposing lane of traffic and struck a car before being thrown from his motorcycle.

We were able to take a statement from the following motorcyclist who described seeing Fraser’s motorcycle dip into a uneven patch of road surface. We took statements from local bus drivers and firefighters who were familiar with the road and were able to say that the defect had been in place for a significant period of time prior to Fraser’s incident. Indeed, the defect was so significant that witnesses said they noticed it when driving along that particular stretch of road in their buses and fire engines.

Road surface defect on the A830Information recovered from BEAR Scotland, who are contracted to maintain and inspect the road for Transport Scotland, identified that the defect had first been recorded three weeks before Fraser’s accident.

However, even more shockingly, when we recovered footage from the inspection vehicle’s on board camera, we could see that the defect had actually been in place for nearly five months prior to Fraser’s incident and whilst temporary repairs had been effected, no permanent repair had been made. This meant we could argue that BEAR Scotland should have noted and properly repaired this uneven road surface long before Fraser’s incident.

As the insurers for BEAR Scotland and Transport Scotland were unwilling to settle Fraser’s case, we were forced to raise his case in the ASPIC (All Scotland Personal Injury Court) in order to obtain justice for him. Despite initially denying responsibility, when presented with the full evidence of the history of the defect, we were able to negotiate a settlement for Fraser which represented his injuries and losses.

Whilst the most important evidence about any road traffic incident usually comes from our clients, if you have been involved in an incident that you cannot recall due to your injuries, please do still contact us at Motorcycle Law Scotland. We can and will carry out investigations on your behalf to establish what happened and, if there is sufficient evidence, make a case on your behalf.