Negligence: the law in Scotland

Author: Sarah Harvie-Clark

PDF Published: Tuesday 30 Jun 2026 (SB 26-39)

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Overview
Report

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Overview
Report
- Summary
- The structure of this briefing
- An overview of the law of negligence
  - The key features of negligence law and practice
  - Some considerations when contemplating a negligence claim
  - Negligence in its broader legal context
  - Negligence and the Scottish court system
    
    The sheriff courts
    
    The National Personal Injury Court
    
    Sheriff Appeal Court
    
    The Court of Session
    
    UK Supreme Court
  - Sources of negligence law
  - Who's who in a civil court action
  - Types of harm
  - Proving negligence and the standards applied by the courts
- Negligence law in more detail
  - Legal liability in negligence
    
    Duty of care: general
    
    Reasonable foreseeability: Donoghue v Stevenson (1932)
    
    The development of the duty of care (1970s-1990s)
    
    2018 onwards: a retreat from the three-stage test
    
    Public policy considerations
    
    Duty of care: specific rules for certain situations
    
    Omissions or failures to act
    
    'Pure' economic loss
    
    Negligent misstatements
    
    Psychiatric injury ('nervous shock')
    
    The standard of care
    
    Professional negligence cases
    
    Whether the breach of the duty of care caused the harm to the pursuer
    
    Factual causation
    
    The 'but for' test
    
    The 'material contribution' test
    
    Legal causation (remoteness of damage)
  - Defences to a negligence action
  - Time limits apply to bringing negligence cases
    
    Why are there time limits?
    
    The legal concepts of prescription and limitation
    
    The main time limits (three, five and 20 years)
  - How damages are calculated by the courts
    
    Property damage or economic losses
    
    Damages for personal injuries
    
    Provisional damages, interim damages and periodical payments
    
    Damages for wrongful death
    
    The victim's rights
    
    The executor's rights
    
    The relatives' rights
    
    Deductions from damages
  - Legal expenses and qualified, one-way cost shifting (QOCS)
  - Joint wrongdoers
  - Enforcing a court order for damages
  - Alternatives to a negligence claim
    
    Insurance
    
    Statutory compensation schemes
    
    Complaints, ombudsmen and regulators
    
    Alternative dispute resolution
    
    Other civil law remedies
    
    Breach of contract
    
    Other remedies in delict
    
    Damages for breach of Convention rights
  - Finding and paying for legal advice and representation in court
    
    Finding a solicitor
    
    How solicitors charge for their work
    
    Legal aid
    
    'No win, no fee' arrangements
    
    Other routes to obtaining legal advice
  - Reforms affecting negligence actions
    
    Completed Scottish Parliament legislation
    
    Recommendations from the Scottish Law Commission (2004-2013)
    
    The 2024 SLC Report on Damages for Personal Injury
    
    Award of damages to or by the injured person
    
    Permanent Health Insurance (PHI)
    
    Private medical treatment, care, accommodation, and equipment
    
    Limitation and asbestos-related cases
    
    Management of damages awarded to children
    
    Scottish Government consultation on the personal injury discount rate and judicial rate of interest
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Last Updated: 30/6 2:41pm

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