Personal injury claims Perth — No Win No Fee solicitors

Perth is a junction town. The A9 and the M90 meet here, and the A85 and A93 run west and north into rural Perthshire, so a large share of local claims involve people who were simply passing through.

Which court would hear the claim

An action arising locally would be raised in Perth Sheriff Court (Tay Street, Perth PH2 8NL), in the All-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court in Edinburgh, or in the Court of Session, depending on value and complexity. ASPIC hears personal injury actions from anywhere in Scotland, so a local accident may well be litigated in Edinburgh. Court details are published by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.

On the roads

The A9 corridor is the dominant factor. Long stretches of alternating single and dual carriageway, heavy freight, and seasonal tourist traffic make overtaking manoeuvres a frequent feature of collisions. The M90 south towards Kinross and Fife, and the A85 towards Crieff, generate their own pattern of claims.

At work

Agriculture and food processing, insurance and financial services employers in the city, haulage operating along the A9, and seasonal tourism work all give rise to employer liability claims. Agricultural claims often involve machinery and livestock handling.

In public places

Perth and Kinross Council maintains adopted roads and footpaths across the area. Claims arise from defective pavements in the city centre and from poorly maintained rural footways, where inspection intervals tend to be longer.

Claims also arise from Scone, Bridge of Earn, Crieff, Blairgowrie and Kinross, and elsewhere in the surrounding area.

Where your medical evidence comes from

A claim stands or falls on medical evidence, so it is worth knowing where yours sits. If you were treated after the accident in this area, that usually means Perth Royal Infirmary (NHS Tayside), along with your own GP practice.

You do not have to collect any of it yourself. Your solicitor requests the records with your written authority. What helps is being able to say roughly where and when you were seen — and if you were treated in more than one place, say so, because records do not automatically follow you between health boards.

Worth keeping in the meantime:

• Discharge letters, appointment cards and referral letters
• Details of any X-ray, scan or physiotherapy you were sent for
• Prescriptions and receipts for anything you paid for
• Dated photographs of visible injuries

If you did not see anyone at the time and have been struggling since, see your GP now. An untreated injury is harder to evidence later, and getting seen matters more for your recovery than it does for the claim.

If it happened on a road or pavement

Perth and Kinross Council is the roads authority for Perth and the surrounding area, so a claim for a pothole, a broken paving slab or a poorly maintained footway is usually made against the council. Trunk roads are a separate matter — the A9, the M90 and the A85 carry the main traffic here — and the A9 has its own guide, given its record, and responsibility for the major routes can sit with Transport Scotland or its operating contractors rather than the council.

If you are reporting a defect:

• Note the exact location before you leave, or drop a pin on your phone
• Photograph the defect with something for scale — a shoe or a coin works
• Report it to the council and keep the reference number
• Photograph it again if it is repaired shortly afterwards

That last point matters more than people expect. Councils have a defence where they can show a reasonable system of inspection and repair, so evidence of what the defect actually looked like on the day is often the difference between a claim that succeeds and one that does not.

Time limits and funding, in one line each

You generally have three years from the date of the accident to raise an action — see time limits in Scotland for the exceptions that apply to children, to people who lack capacity, and to conditions that developed over time.

Most claims are funded by a success fee agreement, so there is nothing to pay upfront and no legal fee if the claim fails; QOCS means you would not normally pay the defender's expenses either.

You do not need a solicitor based locally — Scottish solicitors act across the whole country. What matters is how much personal injury work the firm does in the Scottish courts. See choosing a solicitor, and check any firm on the Law Society of Scotland's Find a Solicitor register.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a solicitor based in Perth? No. Scottish solicitors can act for clients anywhere in Scotland, and the All-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court hears claims from across the country regardless of where the accident happened. What matters more is how much personal injury work the firm does in the Scottish courts. You can check any solicitor on the Law Society of Scotland's Find a Solicitor register.

Which court would hear my claim? An action arising locally would be raised in Perth Sheriff Court, in the All-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court in Edinburgh, or in the Court of Session, depending on the value and complexity of the claim. Scotland has no County Court — that is an English institution.

How long do I have to make a claim in Perth? You generally have three years from the date of the accident to raise a court action, under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. Where an illness developed over time the period may run instead from the date you first knew it was caused by someone else's fault, and different rules apply to children and to people who lack capacity.

Does it cost anything to make a claim? Most Scottish personal injury claims are funded by a success fee agreement, so there is nothing to pay upfront and no legal fee if the claim does not succeed. If it succeeds, most of your expenses are recovered from the defender and a success fee is deducted from your damages.

Related guides

The A9 runs north from Perth — see A9 road accident claims.

Last reviewed: 8 August 2026 by the Personal Injury Claims Scotland editorial team