What is involved in making a claim for personal injuries?
- When you meet with us for the first time, we will take your instructions as to how your accident occurred. We will advise you whether you have a case or not and how best to proceed with your case.
- We advise you in relation to expenses which you are responsible to pay so that you know exactly where you stand money wise with us and then we immediately arrange to take the necessary steps to advance your case.
- The steps in question are to contact any Witnesses to get their Statements to obtain reports from the Gardaí, doctors, hospital, engineers and then commence communications with the other side/and their Insurers. We will keep you advised of the costs of getting any reports so you will know what, if any, deductions from your settlement or award will arise for these outlays. Or in circumstances where you have paid your own Report then this amount will be refunded to you.
- Once we have obtained the necessary Medical Reports detailing your injuries and we have a comprehensive picture of your injuries, we are then free to try and settle the case with the other side or their Insurance Company subject to your instructions. If you are happy with the offer of settlement monies that we have obtained from them, we can then settle your case and complete the matter for you at this stage. We will obviously only do this if you have furnished us with your authority to enter into negotiations for settlement and if we have a comprehensive picture of all of your injuries and you are happy with the outcome of our discussions with the other side and are happy to take the settlement proposed. As your Solicitors we will advise you of the anticipated value of your case and the associated risks in progressing with your case to Court however, ultimately the decision whether to proceed to Court or settle your case is a decision which only you can make with the benefit of our Advices.
- If there is no offer forthcoming from the other side or their Insurance Company or the offer that has been made is not acceptable, we then proceed to bring an application for you to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) also known as the Injuries Board. This is the Board that has been established by the Government to see if certain claims can be dealt with by way of assessment without having to go to Court. All cases therefore must go through the Injuries Board before they can go to Court. As stated we will bring the necessary Application to the Injuries Board on your behalf and deal with all matters that arise in connection with same.
- If ultimately the Assessment Board makes you an Assessment and the other side agree to pay it, your case can now conclude at this stage provided you are happy with the outcome. If ultimately the Injuries Board makes an Assessment in the case which you are happy with and the other side agree to pay it, your case can now conclude at this stage.
- If however there has been no offer from the other side and the Injuries Board does not lead to a successful outcome because the other side are disputing liability for your accident or the position with your injuries is too unclear and/ or you are not happy with the amount the Injuries Board assessed, we can then proceed with your claim through the Courts as quickly as possible so a Judge can compensate you fully for your physical and/or psychological injuries and other losses including out of pocket expenses.
- The Court process that we have to take you through in relation to this matter is as follows:- On receipt of the necessary Reports, your papers are then sent to a Barrister who we employ for you, so the Barrister can prepare the necessary documents that have to be issued by us. The first Court document to be prepared by the Barrister which has to be issued in your case is a Summons. The other side then put in a document once we serve them with that called an Appearance and they will usually ask a series of questions about your case at this stage called Particulars. We bring you in at that point and have you go through these questions and give us your replies together with any receipts you have for your out of pocket expenses. Once we give them these Replies the other side will then either put in a final document called a Defence or alternatively will indicate that they want to settle your case. If they put in their Defence we can, if your injury situation is completely clear and there are no further preparations needed for your case, apply for a date for Hearing in Court for your case or alternatively we can put your case into a queue waiting to be heard. If the other side indicate that they want to settle your case, we will then set up a meeting between you, us, your Barrister and the other side. Your Barrister will have been already furnished with all of the necessary documents in your case and after discussing the matter with you in detail he/she will then with us speak to the other side and try and reach an agreement to try and settle your case. Your Barrister will be fully experienced at measuring what your case is worth and what a Judge would likely give you if your case was to go to Court and will then with us, try and obtain that compensation from the other side for you. If they do not pay you at this meeting a figure that you are happy with, then we go ahead and obtain a date for Hearing for your case and nothing has been lost in attempting to settle the matter. If your case is going to Court and once we know the date for the case, we arrange for you, your Barrister, Doctors, Gardaí, Witnesses etc., to be at the Four Courts on the morning of your case. Your Barrister and Ourselves will then go through the matter fully with you and your Witnesses and again if the other side are not prepared to settle the case before we go into Court, we will then go in and present your case in Court and let the Judge decide on the outcome.
- Whether your case settles, goes to the Injuries Board or has to go to Court is entirely dependant on getting you your proper compensation. We at all times try to ensure that you get the best possible result and it is immaterial to us whether your case settles, goes to the Injuries Board or goes to Court. Ultimately, our objective is to ensure that your case is concluded successfully and that you are satisfied with the outcome.
Personal Injury & Medical Negligence Litigation
Claudine Hanratty Solicitors, Tallaght Village, Dublin 24 provide an experienced, friendly and efficient service to private clients in Civil Litigation matters in the Circuit Court and High Court. We look forward to meeting with you to discuss your case at which time we will explain your options to you. Any case which we proceed with on your behalf, will be on the basis of a fully transparent fees structure which will be explained clearly at the outset. Our objective is to proceed with your case in a highly efficient manner to bring your claim to its best conclusion.
We provide legal advice on areas including:
- Personal Injury Claims – Road Traffic Accidents/Accidents at work
- Medical Negligence*
- Professional Negligence
- Breach of Contract
- Product Liability Claims
- Defamation*
- All manner of disputes
* Please note in contentious business a Solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or statement.
Contact our Team now for assistance in taking a claim for personal injuries arising from an accident.