If you have been injured in an accident which was not entirely your fault, you could be eligible to claim compensation for personal injury in Ireland. It is your legal right to claim compensation for personal injury in Ireland and to receive recompense for the pain and suffering caused by an injury as well as recovering any financial costs incurred due to an accident for which you were not wholly to blame.
It is not necessary to use a personal injury compensation solicitor to claim compensation for personal injury in Ireland; however over 90 per cent of accident victims choose to pursue a compensation claim with professional legal representation. Claiming compensation for personal injury in Ireland has a greater chance of success with the help of a personal injury compensation solicitor and compensation payments are likely to be more appropriate to your injuries and their effect on your quality of life when a solicitor prepares your claim. A solicitor will also help to negotiate a quick settlement with the defence’s insurance company whenever possible, or will be able to litigate through the Irish court system if a suitable out of court compensation settlement cannot be reached.
Eligibility to Claim Compensation for Personal Injury in Ireland
Compensation for personal injury in Ireland can be awarded for any injury; from bruising and soft tissue damage to life threatening illnesses and injuries. However in order to be eligible to claim compensation for personal injury in Ireland there must have been third party negligence. As long as your injuries were not primarily your fault, and a third party was the main reason for the accident that caused your injuries, you should be eligible to claim compensation for personal injury in Ireland and should seek the advice of an experienced personal injury compensation solicitor.
Calculation of Compensation for Personal Injury in Ireland
With the exception of claims in which liability is in doubt, compensation for personal injury in Ireland will be assessed and evaluated by the Injuries Board Ireland. The Injuries Board Ireland will receive any claim and will assess eligibility, and will arrive at an appropriate personal injury compensation amount. The Injuries Board Ireland was established to help claimants receive fair compensation for injuries sustained due to third party negligence, and to make the claims process run more smoothly.
However, although an Injuries Board assessment will cover most aspects of an injury, it will make an insufficient distinction between the age, sex or general state of health of the victim prior to an accident. These can have a considerable bearing on how much a compensation claim for personal injury in Ireland is worth.
If you want to ensure that you claim your maximum entitlement to compensation for personal injury in Ireland, you should seek advice from an experienced personal injury compensation solicitor. When a personal injury compensation solicitor assesses a claim, you can be assured that all aspects of the injury will be used to calculate the claims value, including loss of earnings, out of pocket expenses and future risks to the health which may result from the injury.
Costs of Claiming Compensation for Personal Injury in Ireland
Claiming compensation for personal injury in Ireland is likely to incur legal costs, which will have to be paid by the claimant should the claim fail and, in some cases, may have to be paid out of a compensation award if the claim succeeds. The legal cost of a compensation claim for personal injury in Ireland should see the defence liable for costs if the case is won, but there may be disbursements (legal expenses) and other costs for which the claimant will be responsible.
Compensation for personal injury in Ireland can see a claimant being liable for substantial legal costs if the claim fails, as under Irish compensation claims law, the losing party is always liable to pay for the legal costs for the defence. Should the claim require litigation through the Irish court system, there will be additional court costs which will need to be paid.
In the majority of cases, claiming compensation for personal injury in Ireland is worthwhile, even with the potential costs, and there are ways that liability to pay for costs can be reduced, or even negated. When you call our free compensation claims helpline, you will be advised of the costs of legal action, and the steps that you can take to reduce any potential legal bills.
Compensation for Personal Injury in Ireland for Children
A child cannot claim compensation for personal injury in Ireland until they become a legal adult. An injury to a child can therefore be delayed until the child’s eighteenth birthday, when the child can instruct a solicitor and take legal action to recover compensation for personal injuries. However, delaying a claim for compensation for personal injury in Ireland is often unwise. The more time that passes between the date of the injury and the time of the claim, the harder it can be to prove negligence and ensure a successful outcome to the claim. Often, compensation for personal injury in Ireland is required quickly to pay for the cost of treatment and to ensure that a child receives the best possible medical care.
Personal injury compensation claims law in Ireland makes provision for this by allowing a parent, legal guardian, or other responsible adult, to pursue a claim for compensation on a child’s behalf as a ‘next friend’. Provided that there is no conflict of interest, and that the ’next friend’ assumes all financial responsibility for the claim, the courts will allow the claim to proceed. A ‘next friend’ will not receive any compensation award, as this will be held by the Irish courts and only released to the child when they reach the age of eighteen. However, interim payments of compensation for personal injury in Ireland can be released upon petition to the courts to cover medical expenses and ongoing costs associated with the injury.
Interim Payments of Compensation for Personal Injury in Ireland
Personal Injury compensation awards can take some time to resolve; which can be weeks, months or in some cases even years. The costs of medical treatment and the loss of earnings during recovery from a personal injury can take their toll on a claimant’s personal finances, and often medical treatment simply cannot be afforded without an award of personal injury compensation.
Part of the compensation for personal injury in Ireland can be paid before the claim has been successfully resolved as interim payments. A solicitor can apply to the Irish courts to release interim payments of personal injury compensation and, if successful, a proportion of the personal injury compensation can be awarded before a compensation claim has been settled. When a case is strong and has a good chance of success, and when negotiations between both parties are prolonged while a suitable compensation figure is arrived at, interim payments can be of great benefit to an accident victim. Interim payments can be released to cover ongoing medical problems, or expenses which have to be paid to speed up the victim’s recovery.
Payment of Compensation for Personal Injury in Ireland
Payment of compensation for personal injury in Ireland is usually made by cheque to the claimant’s solicitor, who will in turn arrange for payment to be transferred to the claimant. Compensation for personal injury in Ireland is claimed and awarded in two separate categories; namely general damages and special damages.
A claim for general damages is concerned with providing recompense for pain and suffering, as well as for any loss of amenity which has been caused by the injuries. If the quality of life has been affected by an injury, this will be factored into a claim for general damages by the claimant’s solicitor. Compensation for personal injury in Ireland is also paid as special damages, which are concerned with recovering the cost of any expense arising from the injury. Medical bills, home help costs and even alternative transportation costs can all be included in a claim for personal injury special damages, provided that the costs can be directly attributed to the injury and that they can be substantiated with receipts. Loss of earnings and even loss of overtime can also be included as compensation for personal injury in Ireland under special damages.
Free Legal Advice on Compensation for Personal Injury in Ireland
Accident victims can easily be confused by the laws and legal processes for claiming compensation for personal injury in Ireland, and are bound to have many questions about eligibility, what is involved in the claims process and how to start the process to claim compensation for personal injury in Ireland.
In order to make the process as easy as possible, we have established a personal injury compensation claims telephone advisory service to allow accident victims to get the answers they need. Our telephone lines are manned by experienced personal injury compensation solicitors who offer free legal advice on all aspects of the claims process.
To find out if you are eligible to claim compensation for personal injury in Ireland and to receive an assessment of the strength of your claim, call our free helpline today on 1-800 989 999. If you do not have time to call now, please take advantage of our free call back service. One of our experienced compensation claims solicitors will then call you back to discuss your claim when it is more convenient for you.
