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If you are making a personal injury claim because you’ve been involved in an accident, you will need to provide evidence to support your case. This means providing official records of your health before and after the incident, evidence of your injuries, how the event happened, and who was responsible.

This will involve gathering data from a number of sources. Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, you are entitled to access any information about you that is on record.

According to the Data Protection Commission:

“The right to access your personal data is a basic right and applies by law regardless of the type of body or entity that is holding your personal data. Accordingly, you have a basic right to access your personal data held by, amongst others, doctors, hospitals or consultants treating you in a private or public capacity. In response to such a request, you should receive anything held on file or computer by the health professional or facility that relates to you or from which you can be identified.”

Medical records

When building your personal injury case, your medical records are a key piece of evidence. They serve as official documentation of your injuries, treatment, and recovery timeline.

So how do you go about doing getting these records?

To request your medical information, you will need to contact the healthcare facility where you received treatment, preferably in writing. In most cases, healthcare providers must respond to these requests within one month.

Make sure that you request your complete medical history – this means all the information about you that facility has on file, not just the records of your most recent attendance. We often receive incomplete medical records from healthcare providers and this can create delays in building a case.

You will also need to ask your GP to provide your full medical records. This will provide evidence of your health before the incident, and the subsequent impact it had on your life.

If you are having difficulties in getting this information from your healthcare provider, tell us as soon as possible. We may be able to give you directions on how to speed up the process.

Accessing CCTV footage

If your accident was captured by CCTV cameras, whether in a shop, on public transport, or on a street, you may request access to that footage, provided you can reasonably identify yourself in it.

It is really important to act fast to secure this footage for your claim, as it is often deleted after 30 days, and sometimes after only 14 days.

How to access CCTV footage in Ireland:

• Identify the ‘data controller’. This could be a business owner, public transport company, or local council.
• Submit a written Subject Access Request (SAR) including the date, time, and location of the incident. This is not mandatory, and can be made verbally, through email, or even social media. However, it is advisable to have a written record of your request, in case there are any disputes about the details.
• The data controller must respond within 30 days under GDPR rules.

Accessing other personal data: Reports and records

Beyond medical files and CCTV footage, you may also need to access other documents as evidence for your case. This may include:

• Accident report forms from businesses or employers
• Workplace records that are relevant to your injury
• Correspondence with insurance companies or third parties

As with any request for data, it is best to make a written Subject Access Request and keep copies of any correspondence. The same GDPR timeframes and rules apply.

Can my solicitor request this information for me?

If we have opened a case for you, we can request data records on your behalf, if you have given us consent to do so.

In certain situations, we may need to review information or evidence before we can open a case, to make sure it is a viable claim. In these instances, we will ask you to request the data.

What if the request for data is refused?

You are legally entitled to find out if there is information about you held on record, to access those records and to have them corrected if the records are inaccurate.

Therefore, your request should not be refused. However, if it is, let us know and we will do whatever we can to help.

If any ‘data controller’ (the person or company who makes decisions about the data) refuses to supply your records, you can make a complaint to the data commissioner, though the ‘Contact the DPC’ section of the DPC website.

You can also email the DPC at info@dataprotection.ie. You will need to clearly set out your data protection concern and provide copies of any correspondence regarding your request for records.

You can find out more about your legal rights to accessing your data at Data Subject Access Requests – FAQ | Data Protection Commission

If you’ve been injured and would like to discuss your options around making a personal injury claim, get in touch with our experienced team. We’ll guide you through every step, from gathering evidence to achieving the best possible outcome for you.