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Accidents in Scotland, youclaim.co.uk

Scotland the Brave and work accident claims

personal injury solicitors, work accident claimWhat is it about the Scottish? Why for such a relatively small and lowly populated country does Scotland seem to produce more geniuses and significant historical figures per capita than any other nation on earth.

It does not seem fair that a country which has contributed so much to humanity, civilization and the United Kingdom should be such a hotbed for personal injury claims, particularly in the field of work accident compensation.

Yet there are explanations. It does make sense that Scotland should see so many work accident claims when for a prolonged period of years Scotland, together with Wales and the north of England, formed the centre of the UK's mining industry.

Even today there are still Scottish mining work accident claims for work injuries such as asbestos-related illness and beat knee (bursitis) being made by people who worked in Scottish mines when they were at their peak in the 1970s and 80s.

But work accidents in Scottish mines are, of course, not a recent phenomenon. In fact they have been happening from the earliest Stone Age forays into mining right through to the hazardous days of Victorian pre and early industrial mining.

Unfortunately, for these early victims of Scottish work accidents there was no recourse to no win, no fee solicitors specialising in accidents at work.

Here are a few examples of the kind of mining work accident that was all too common in Scotland towards the end of the 19th Century.

All are taken directly from Scottish newspapers of the time:

  • Fatal Accident at a Fife Colliery - An accident, which terminated fatally, occurred yesterday in one of the pits of Muircockhall Colliery, near Dunfermline. John Oswald, a miner, was working at the face, when a quantity of coal came away suddenly and fell upon him. His back was broken and he died while being taken to his house at Townhill. The deceased, who was 50 years of age, leaves a widow and grown up family. [Scotsman 1 May 1895]
  • Fatal Pit Accident - Yesterday, James Stobbie, labourer, accidentally fell down one of the Dunfermline Coal Company's pits at Highholm, and was killed on the spot. The shaft is in process of sinking, and Stobbie, who was engaged in emptying the "kettles" missed his footing and fell a distance of 40 fathoms. Deceased was married and fifty years of age. [Edinburgh Courant 5 December 1884]
  • Fatal Accident - James Reid, miner, was killed at the "Rossie" pit of Messrs Bowman & Co, East Wemyss, on Saturday, through one of the hutches falling from the top of the elevator at the loading bank. He only survived the accident an hour. He leaves a widow and two children. [Scotsman 18 June 1883]
  • Serious Personal Injury - Yesterday morning, John Matthewson, hooker in the Rosie Pit of Messrs Bowman &, Company, missed his footing and fell in front of the hutches, several of which grazed his head and otherwise seriously injured his body. [Scotsman 2 October 1884]

It is a shame that through the cruel hand of history none of these men benefited from the advances of 20th Century medical science or the expertise of today's no win, no fee personal injury solicitors.

Chances are that many great Scots such as Dr. David Livingstone the famous philanthropist, Robert the Bruce the valiant king and Alexander Bell, inventor of the telephone, would agree that no win, no fee work accident compensation claims are a just and necessary element of a fair and equal Scottish society.

This article may be published on another website free of charge, on the condition that a link is provided from this article to our website: http://www.youclaim.co.uk/scottish-injury/scottish-industries-and-personal-injury-claims.htm

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