In scenarios where a person is involved in an accident that was not their fault and sustains an injury as a result of that accident, they may be entitled to pursue a personal injury claim.
There are many different scenarios that could lead to a claim, most common of which are:
Each scenario and case will be different, therefore, it is important that you contact a personal injury solicitor as soon as possible after the accident to discuss your case.
A personal injury claim is a process of seeking a monetary settlement for injury or illness that has been caused (or made worse) by someone else’s negligence. In general, for a personal injury claim to be viable, there are a few conditions that must be met:
Our specialist personal injury solicitors in Dublin are here to make the process easier for you and your family.
Immediately following an accident, making a claim may not be at the top of your agenda, focusing on your recovery is most important.
It is important to note that in Ireland there is a time limit in which you can make a personal injury claim. This time limit is called the statute of limitations and states that a case must be started within two years from the date of the accident. It is important to discuss your case with a solicitor as soon as possible after the accident, because any attempt to start a personal injury case after the two-year mark may not be pursuable.
However, there are some exceptions to this two-year rule and the two-year time limit does not apply in the following scenarios where:
Once an application to the Injuries Board for assessment has been filed and a letter from the Injuries Board is issued to acknowledge your claim the clock stops of the two-year time limit and will restart as soon as the case moves forward to court proceedings.
In order for your solicitor to proceed with a personal injury claim for you they will need the following information:
The length of your case will depend on several factors:
The first step in making a claim, after you have spoken with a solicitor, is to submit an application to the Injuries Board for an assessment of your claim. You will be required to complete an Injuries Board Form A in order to start the claims process. Your solicitor can gather the relevant documents needed (medical reports, Gardaí reports etc.,) do this on your behalf.
This is a common question for people making a personal injury claim. It would be better phrased, ‘Should I use a personal injury solicitor to make a claim’?. The answer most definitely is yes.
Insurance companies may advise you that you can pursue a claim for your injuries through the injuries board. In Ireland, it is possible to bring a claim for personal injury yourself through the Injuries Board (formerly known as PIAB) or for road traffic accidents, the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI). Making a personal injury claim yourself is actually a lot more involved in a claim than you may realise. Not following procedure or making the right moves at the right time could be detrimental to your case and leave you with no grounds for a claim for compensation.
The Injuries Board and MIBI were set up to assist people in making claims without the need for a solicitor. The reality is that the majority of people make a claim with a solicitor because the likelihood of greater compensation is higher.
Benefits of using a personal injury solicitor
The benefits of making a personal injury claim with the assistance of a personal injury solicitor are:
Once the Injuries Board have received your application they have a period of 9 months in which to assess your claim. Once assessed, the Injuries Board will revert back to you and the person at fault with a suggested compensation amount to be paid to you. At this stage, one of two scenarios will come to pass:
Option 1: If both parties agree on the settlement amount, the Injuries Board will issue an order to Pay and the compensation amount will be paid to you.
Option 2: If either party disagrees on the compensation amount then your case moves to the next stage – you have 6 months to issue court proceedings.
This is a common question and there is no quick answer. The best way to seek a claim for a personal injury is to be honest, timely, work with your solicitor as needed and to focus on your recovery. By using a solicitor to seek a claim, you can focus on your recovery while your solicitor focuses on moving your case forward.
Solicitors fees are based on a number of factors:
Speaking with a solicitor is the best first step you can take if you are concerned about legal fees, they will explain to you exactly how it all works and put your mind at ease.
You may find some solicitors operate on a no win no fee basis which means that if your personal injury claim is not successful then there is no charge to you. It is important to note that while this is a common practice in the industry the Law Society of Ireland regulate how a solicitor’s firm can advertise their services, one of these regulations is that a solicitor’s firm cannot advertise ‘no win no fee’ services and any solicitor found to be advertising these serves will be found to be in breach of the regulations. Keep this in mind when choosing your solicitor to represent you.
In a personal injury claim, the settlement amount paid to the injured party is generally paid by the company who is found legally liable for their injury. Often, these settlements are paid by the company’s insurance company.
A compensation amount is calculated by taking into account the following aspects:
In order to calculate compensation for you, the Injuries Board will refer to the Judicial Council’s personal injury guidelines. The Judicial Council’s guidelines provide us with general guidelines as to how much compensation may be awarded in a personal injury claim. It shows us what personal injury compensation amounts were awarded in the past and help to give an estimate as to how much compensation could be awarded based on a person’s specific injuries.
This is not a simple question to answer. The settlement amount you can expect from your personal injury claim is heavily dependent on a number of factors, including:
For more information on how you can estimate the value of your claim, check out our compensation claims estimator.
The value of your personal injury claim will depend on several factors:
Attempting to value your claim alone can be difficult, speak with a personal injury solicitor to better understand your current position.
Injury claims are calculated taking some, or all, of the below aspects into account:
You may estimate the value of your injury by using the Judicial Council’s personal injury guidelines. Using these guidelines, you can add the costs of your expenses, lost earnings and medical bills to get an idea of the value of your case. Speak with a solicitor to gain a better understanding of how your claim may be calculated.
While there is no straightforward answer to this question, a solicitor can help you understand the potential value of your claim. To do this, understanding the Judicial Council’s personal injury guidelines will help to give the injured party an estimate as to how much compensation may be awarded based on the person’s specific injuries. Bear in mind that the Judicial Council’s guidelines will only consider the value of your injuries and does not take into account your lost earnings and medical bills. These will be specific to your case, therefore, speaking with a solicitor can help you estimate the value of your case.
There are a couple of stages where you may be able to settle your claim. The specifics of your case, Injuries Board assessment, among other aspects will determine when you will settle your claim.
Every case is different and each case comes to a resolution differently. In the majority of personal injury cases, the person making the claim will not step foot into a courtroom.
It is possible that the person at fault will seek to settle outside of court and your case will be settled in a settlement meeting attended by you, your solicitor and barrister to negotiate your settlement.
Ultimately, it is entirely up to you whether to accept the settlement offered. If you do not accept then it will move to a court hearing where a judge will decide how much your settlement will be.
More often than not, a personal injury claim will be settled outside of court. This is generally done in a settlement meeting before a court date or is settled at Injuries Board assessment.
If the Injuries Board reverts with an estimate that you are happy with and that covers everything, then you may settle at this point and not have to move to legal proceedings and a court date.
If you or the other side decide to reject the Injuries Board assessment, then you move to legal proceedings. A settlement meeting may be organized before having to step foot into a courtroom. If an agreement cannot be met at the settlement meeting, then you may have to go as far as a court date where a judge will decide upon your case.
Personal injury claims in Ireland are not taxable.
If you settle a personal injury claim and receive a lump sum payout, it may affect benefits in the future. For example, if you are to be means tested in the future, it would consider your income and savings, among other aspects. If you have a lump sum from a personal injury claim payout, this may affect the results of your means test.
Psychological injuries can be claimed, but are a little more difficult to be proven. It is important to have as much medical evidence as possible when claiming a psychological injury. While there are many types of psychological injuries, these types of injuries usually appear in the following scenarios:
The most common psychological injury is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In order to show these types of injuries a medical evidence will be required, i.e. doctors reports, psychiatrists reports, for example.
A child is considered any person under the age of 18. Legally, a minor cannot engage a solicitor and make a claim this leaves two options for making a claim:
Option 1: The child’s parent/guardian can proceed with a claim on the child’s behalf.
Option 2: The child can proceed with the claim themselves when they turn 18 years of age.
In scenario 1 where the case is settled before the child reaches 18 years age, the settlement amount awarded to the child is held by the courts and can be paid out when the child reaches 18 years of age, by way of an application to the court.