Our Personal Injury team successfully secured compensation for loss of society for the family of two parents killed in an accident whilst on holiday
David Armstrong, Head of our Personal Injury team, represented the family of a mother and father who died in a road traffic accident whilst holidaying on the island of Kos in Greece.
We were instructed by the immediate family shortly after the accident in August 2012. The mother was killed instantly and the father was badly injured. He was flown back to Scotland and later died at the Victoria Infirmary in November 2012.
How we helped our clients
We initially engaged the services of Greek lawyers to help with the process of liaising with the prosecution service in Athens to update us on the latest developments in the criminal case. We intimated a number of claims on behalf of the family to the insurers of the driver responsible for the accident. Before doing so, we had to conduct extensive investigations concerning the accident circumstances and to confirm the identity of the driver’s insurers. There were initial concerns that the driver may not have been insured, but we eventually established the identity of the correct insurers, based in Athens. After further correspondence the insurers admitted liability for the accident.
We assembled a team of experts and established ties with Greek lawyers to advise on the potential value of the claim and considered a number of factors to determine if the claims should be run in the Greek or Scottish courts. We had to take into account the possible implications of a failing Greek economy and the ability of the insurers to pay out. We were eventually able to establish that the insurers’ parent company was German and this allayed any fears about the insurer’s ability to pay-out any damages award.
We gathered a number of statements from those involved in the accident and liaised with a number of parties including the legal expenses insurers which were involved in both the repatriation of the mother’s body and flying the father back to this country for further treatment.
To achieve a favourable outcome we worked closely with Greek lawyers on all aspects of the claims and they advised on a number of practical aspects of working with the insurers in Athens. The way insurers deal with road traffic accidents is different to that of the UK and we had to provide them with substantially more information than we would have had to have done in the UK. We also had to have all documents signed by the Greek Consulate General in Edinburgh and thereafter notarised and apostilised in London. This took a significant amount of correspondence with all interested parties, but thankfully the matter was resolved without the need for a court action. We were able to achieve the best settlement for the insurers and each of the close family members.
How we can help
Our travel team have many years of experience in dealing with all types of accidents abroad, including road traffic accidents. A number of different considerations need to be taken into account including the key issue of which is the most advantageous jurisdiction to use for any court proceedings.
David Armstrong has over 25 years’ experience in this field, and he also is a Solicitor Advocate and a Senior in the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.
