Legal Process for Personal Injury Compensation Claims in Ireland
We will help you through all of the necessary steps in the legal process for personal injury compensation claims in Ireland.
Step 1: Take time to recover from your injury: Personal injury claims take time to be completed. Our experience shows that it is important that a case should not be settled before your injuries have settled fully and we have a clear medical prognosis as to the future effects of any injury. It can take an average of 8 months to 2 years for a personal injury case to be settled.
Step 2: Talk to us: After an initial consultation, we will examine your situation and decide if there is a case. Then we will commence a personal injury action on your behalf.
Step 3: Get medical reports: We will send you to a specialist consultant for you to be examined and your medical condition assessed.
Step 4: Make an application to the Injuries Board (formerly known as the PIAB): Before commencing Court proceedings in Ireland, all personal injury claims (with the exception of a personal injury arising out of medical negligence) must be submitted first to the Injuries Board (formerly know as PIAB). The Injuries Board is an independent government body which assesses the amount of compensation due to a person who has suffered a personal injury. The Injuries Board can deal only with matters where there is no dispute of liability, as they do not hear cases. In the event that the defendants agree, an assessment of damages can be carried out by the Injuries Board without the necessity of proceeding to Court. We can represent you in all dealings with the Injuries Board. It is important to be properly advised throughout this process to ensure that the appropriate level of compensation is either awarded by the Injuries Board and to guide you through any settlement discussions which might take place during the process. If a defendant refuses to have a matter dealt with by the Injuries Board or if an award is deemed to be unsatisfactory by either party, then the compensation claim can proceed to Court and legal proceedings are started.
Step 5: Issuing legal proceedings: We will issue legal proceedings against the person/organisation that is deemed to have been responsible for causing your injury. Their response will determine the next move. They may contest the action or they may agree to settlement discussions.
Step 6: Getting Reports from Experts: Depending on the case and the circumstances, we may seek additional reports from engineers and other medical/technical specialists to support your case.
Step 7: Follow up medical reports: Because of the timeframes involved, and for your injury to settle, you will have to undergo more medical examinations (for both your own case and the defendants) to see how the accident has affected you over the intervening period. You may also have to provide financial information to show loss of earnings as a result of the accident.
Step 8: Settle out of court: As the court date approaches, the defendants may seek to make a financial offer before the court date. You will have the expert advice of a leading barrister who will deal with the defendant's legal team on your behalf. If both parties fail to agree at this stage, then the case will go to court.
Step 9: Going to court: You may be required to testify in court and you may be asked questions by the defendant's legal team. Both sides may call on expert witnesses to support their cases. Based on the legal arguments from both sides, a single judge will make a decision on the case. If you win, you should receive a sum of money plus your costs (legal, medical etc.). Payment should be made to you within 4-8 weeks through us.
Our Services
To establish if you have a case for compensation, start by telling us about your case. To contact us, call us on 1850 940140 or 01-8745656, e-mail us at law@traceysolicitors.ie or we can call you back. After examination of your case, we can decide to proceed with a claim for compensation.
* In contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or a proportion of any award or settlement.
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