Tony Barrell

On August 25, 2005, Tony Barrell was riding his motorcycle between Newtonmore and Laggan when, on a blind bend, he was hit by a motorcycle which was on the wrong side of the road.

"My bike was written off and my right leg, knee and foot were very badly smashed up. I was so badly injured, I was off work for almost a year and, for all that time, I had a huge question mark in my head about whether I would ever be able to return to work," explains Tony, who is a rigger on a North Sea oil rig.

Although Tony had legal aid through his motorcycle insurance, his allocated lawyers refused to do anything. "They were of the opinion that the accident was my fault," recalls Tony. "I knew I was in the right but they told me that one of the policemen who had attended the scene had reported that I was on the wrong side of the road.

"A year after the accident, I received a writ for £250,000 from the other motorcyclist's solicitor. What was I doing to do? Even though the accident hadn't been my fault, I risked losing everything."

Seriously worried about what the future held for him, Tony decided to look for a new solicitor. "As the accident had happened on a Scottish road, I needed a Scottish lawyer, preferably one with a good understanding of motorcycles - which, through an internet search, led me to Digby Brown," continues Tony.

"I explained what had happened during the accident to the Digby Borwn Motorcycle Law Department and was told I had a good chance of winning my case - so I changed solicitors."

After 18 months of being largely ignored by his solicitors, Tony was amazed by how different his case was handled by the Digby Brown Motorcycle Law Department, who started their enquiries into Tony's case by hiring a highly respected crash investigator. "A spillage of radiator fluid had been found on the opposite side of the carriageway and it had previously been concluded that this meant I had been on the wrong side of the road," revealed Tony.

"However, after studying all the evidence, and taking into account the crash investigator's 27-page report, Digby Brown established that the radiator fluid could only have come from the other motorcycle - and that the other motorcyclist was on the wrong side of the road at the time of impact."

"I was quite prepared to go to court but when the other side withdrew their writ and came up with a reasonable offer, I accepted.

"I would certainly recommend Digby Brown to other motorcyclists. I was kept informed at every stage of the case, even when I was offshore. Meetings were arranged at the Digby Brown office in Edinburgh so I could meet my lawyer face to face and have the various legal procedures explained."

"If I hadn't gone to Digby Brown, rather than being compensated for my injuries, loss of earnings and written-off bike, I would almost certainly have lost everything."

If you wish to make a motorcycle accident claim in Scotland, call the Digby Brown Motorcycle Law Department on 0845 273 2323 or complete an Enquiry Form .