Personal Injury Claims

 

Personal Injury Claims*

How to make a claim

A Personal Injury claim for compensation can often be complex and are best submitted with the assistance of a specialist personal injury claims solicitor. Acting as your personal injury claims solicitor we can provide you with information on:

  • whether you should make a personal injury claim, 
  • when you need to make a claim, 
  • how much it will cost. 


You will be able to make an informed decision whether you need a personal injury solicitor. 

We have experienced personal injury solicitors available to review your claim and advise on the appropriate action.

Misfortune strikes when we least expect it. Whether you have been involved in a car crash, workplace accident, or had an accident in a public place either at home or abroad, we can help you.

What is a Personal Injury Claim?

In a personal injury * claim, medical negligence or a motor accident claim which are known as tort claims, damages may be awarded for pain and suffering resulting from any accident. Damages may also be awarded for loss in the quality of your life as well as for  any past, current and/or future loss of earnings. Damages can also be awarded for the cost of medical care, including home care both past, present and future as well as expenses.

Personal injury claims calculators are used to give a very basic figure as a best estimate of what the total possible amount of any settlement might be. While the court will decide exactly how much will be awarded in the case, the personal injury claims calculator asks a series of questions and with these answers it can determine what damages would be at as well. It is not be used for an accurate amount due to the fact that during the litigation there may be different submitted evidence that may influence the claim .

If you have been involved in a road traffic accident, which was not your fault, then you may be entitled to make a personal injury* claim immediately.  You can make a start by getting accident and witness reports along with medical statements etc. This may or may not be practical due of your injuries for you to commence yourself but your family can liaise with your solicitor.

If, however, you are a passenger, involved in an accident your personal injury claim would be made against either the driver of the vehicle you were travelling with or the third party driver or in some cases both.

If you are on foot then you would claim against the driver of the car, bus, motor bike etc. who caused the accident.

How much do you get for a Personal injury claim?

In any personal injury case, monetary damages are paid to the injured person by the person or company who is found to be legally responsible for the accident which is normally the defendant or his/her insurance company. An award for damages can be agreed upon after a negotiated settlement between all parties, their insurance companies, and your solicitor. Damages may be ordered by a judge or jury following a court trial.

After the first meeting with us, you can then decide that you wish us to represent you in your personal injury claim.

You will receive any damages either after an injury settlement or when the court rules in your favour.

Why Should I make a Personal Injury Claim*?

 

People often worry about making a personal injury claim that maybe it is the wrong thing to do. They often think that it will be making trouble burdening the court system or asking for more compensation than they are really due.  But when an accident has occured and there is an injury involved, making a personal injury claim is often the best way to protect yourself and your family. The Irish Constitution protects your right to claim for compensation. Your whole life could be affected by your ability to work, physical limitations and finances etc.

Say you had and accident at work or slipped and fell on public property and broke your leg. The result could mean that you face costly medical bills, a lot of pain and inconvenience, and have to take a lot of time off work. The best case scenario could be where you are back at work and on the road to a full recovery in a short space of time with a fair and reasonable settlement offer in compensation.

However in a worst case scenario  it might involve medical complications, a slow recovery from your treatment and could even mean a lifelong disability and constant pain. It can be very difficult to predict when you will be able to return to work, or if you’ll even be able to do the same job again?  You might need to meet the costs of ongoing treatment and rehabilitation and  what if you have significant lost income because of extended time off work and can no longer rely on the salary you earned before you were injured? A successful personal injury claim could ensure you are compensated and sufficiently cared for your future.

See Taking a Civil Case link below ↓

Do I have a valid personal injury claim*?


Many of our clients ask us after they have been involved in an accident if they really have a valid injury claim. In addressing this question, we will consider a range of factors, including the existence of an actual accident injury, negligence, liability, statute of limitations, and many other important issues.

We can help you with things like whether you should make a personal injury claim or not, when you should make a claim, how much will it  cost. We also have many years experienced in the Personal Injury area and would be happy to review your case and advise on claiming full compensation for an accident.

The cause of an accident injury isn’t always obvious. In many situations, one party may be completely to blame, but it may also be the case that more than one party may be at fault, or there may even be several contributing factors to the accident. One of the causes may in fact have been the negligence of the injured party themselves.

How can I apportion blame?


Is the injured party entitled to any form of compensation if they have contributed, even slightly, to their own accident?

These are  issues that we will analyse with you in your Personal Injury Claim.

How long will my claim take?


The claims process takes time but we work very fast and as efficiently as possible. If your injuries are only minor and you heal quickly then a fair assessment can be made quickly in which case it may take only a matter of months. However, if you are more seriously injured you will need time to see what treatment is required and may have an effect on your health, so in order to evaluate your long term quality of life it may take a little longer. We strongly advise against going for hasty settlements as they are rarely in your best interests.

We keep you informed of any developments in your case as it progresses and are on hand to offer expert advice at every stage of your claim. We have a proven track record of ensuring that our clients achieve the best possible outcome so that you can put the injury or accident behind you and move on with your life.

How long are the Personal injury time limits?

Generally speaking you have two years in which to file a personal injury claim. The one exception is if the person concerned is a minor or under the age of eighteen.

Call us now on 1 800 444 332 to discuss.

Personal Injury Negligence*


Another factor to note is that maybe the injury sustained resulted from the negligence of someone who had a duty of care towards you at the time of the accident. Employers are expected to provide a safe working environment for their staff.

Heres an example, if someone falls down a stairs in a restaurant and suffers a serious back injury, and the stairs conforms to all the required safety legislation and there have been no other negligent acts on the part of the defendant in relation to the accident then thh cant may not be able to successfully claim against the restaurant owner. A court may well find that his injury was due to misfortune or carelessness on his own behalf and  therefore the proprietors of the restaurant can not be held responsible . We can advise you in detail regarding other situations where a duty of care may exist.

See Personal Injuries Assessment link below ↓

Personal Injuries Liability*

 

dsc00061The cause of an accident may not always be obvious. There are many cases where one party may be completely to blame. However, can also be the case where several factors contributed to the accident. It may, in fact,  be negligence on the part of the injured party themselves. So how can blame be apportioned in this situation? Is the injured party entitled to any form of compensation if he or she has contributed to their own injury? These are all issues that we will work with you to analyse.

Contributory Negligence

It may be decided by a court, or agreed between parties, that both the defendant and the plaintiff are partially at fault for the  injuries sustained and in such circumstances the principle of “contributory negligence” applies.

The legal principle of contributory negligence is where the plaintiff, may have contributed to their own injury by acting in a negligent fashion. When this is compared with the negligence of the defendant it may be found that the extent of contributory negligence may defeat the plaintiff’s case and/or reduce the amount of compensation awarded. It may, for example, be agreed that the plaintiff bare 25% of the responsibility for their accident while the defendant was responsiblef or of 75%. In such a case, the plaintiff’s damages, assessed by the severity of their injury and loss, will be reduced by 25%.

Please be aware that: Negligence without injury, or injury without negligence, are not enough to pursue a successful personal injury compensation claim.

Personal Injury Claims* links on Citizen Information website:

Taking a Civil Case

What are the procedures involved in a civil case in Ireland?

Personal Injuries Assessment

Ireland’s InjuriesBoard.ie decides on personal injury claims where the person responsible for the injury is not disputing liability and consents to the Board assessing the claim for compensation.

Types of Civil Claim

An overview of the different types of civil claim in Ireland.

Rules of the Superior Courts

Rules of the Superior Courts

O’Brien Ronayne Solicitors are specialist Personal Injury Solicitors.

So if you think you have an Accident Injury call us now – I’m sure we can help

 

Click here to contact us today! To discuss your case with a solicitor call us today on 1800 444 322

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