Injury News » Car Accident Compensation
Car Accident Compensation
In order to claim car accident compensation in Ireland, it has to be shown that you sustained an injury in an accident which could have been avoided had it not been for the negligence of another road user. A car accident claim for compensation is usually assessed by the Injuries Board Ireland, but it may be possible to get a quicker and more appropriate settlement of car accident compensation by using the services of an experienced work accident compensation solicitor to approach the negligent road user´s insurers directly. To find out if this would be a suitable course of action for your car accident compensation claim, call our free help line and discuss the circumstances of your car accident directly with one of our experienced Irish solicitors.
Posted: May 29th, 2012
A settlement of Luas injury compensation for an accident which left a Dublin man with traumatic brain injuries has been approved in court almost five years after the accident occurred.
Derek Cross (52) of Clondalkin, Dublin, was crossing the Naas dual carriageway to catch a taxi home in the early hours of 15 September 2007, after drinking at the Bluebell United Football Club until 1.30am following a golf outing with friends.
As he crossed the road to reach the Red Cow Hotel taxi rank, Derek was struck by a Luas tram travelling from Kylemore. The impact with the tram left him with multiple rib fractures and a traumatic brain injury which has lead to Derek only being able to walk with the assistance of crutches and unable to work.
Derek made a claim for Luas injury compensation against the operators of the Luas tram service, the Railway Procurement Agency and Veolia Transport – claiming that they had failed to take reasonable steps to provide appropriate signage and safe passage for pedestrians who were crossing the road lawfully.
Ms Justice Mary Irvine at the High Court heard that the defendants had denied the claims based on Derek´s significant contribution to his injuries due to his inebriated state. However, an out-of-court settlement of 650,000 Euros had been agreeed which was before her for approval.
Approving the settlement of Luas injury compensation, Ms Justice Mary Irvine said that it was an exceptionally good offer under the circumstances of the case, as if the claim for Luas injury compensation had gone to trial there was a risk of losing the case.
Posted: April 14th, 2012
A judge in Dublin´s High Court has ruled that Dublin´s bus company has to release CCTV footage to solicitors representing a claimant in a Dublin Bus accident compensation claim.
The judgement was made by Mr Justice John Hedigan following years of stalling by the bus firm and decisions made in the claimant´s favour by the Data Protection Commissioner and Judge Jacqueline Linnane in the Circuit Civil Court. The bus firm had argued that the information they possessed about the claimant was privileged and, as potential evidence in litigation, they were not prepared to release it.
The Dublin Bus accident compensation claim first started in October 2009, when a female claimant from Dublin alleged that she had sustained an injury aboard a Dublin Bus the previous year. Dublin Bus refused to admit liability for the woman´s injuries and the Injuries Board Ireland declined to assess her application for Dublin Bus injury compensation.
During preparation for compensation action, the claimant´s solicitor was advised of the existence of CCTV footage taken aboard the bus and were shown a video relating to their client´s claim for Dublin Bus injury compensation at Dublin Bus´s office. A request for a copy of the video was turned down and, even after the claimant´s solicitors had complained to the Data Protection Commissioner, Dublin Bus continued to withhold the CCTV footage.
Dublin Bus appealed the Data Protection Commissioner’s decision to release the video clip and took their case to the Circuit Civil Court. However, in July 2011, Judge Jacqueline Linnane ruled that the bus firm should release the video to the solicitors on the grounds that the claimant had every right by law to request access to the CCTV footage in support of her Dublin Bus injury claim and that Dublin Bus had no right to withhold it.
Dublin Bus then decided to delay a resolution to the claim for Dublin Bus injury compensation by appealing Judge Linnane´s decision to the High Court, but Mr Justice John Hedigan found in favour of the claimant, stating that that Dublin Bus had “not raised a point of law giving rise to grounds for overturning Judge Linnane’s decision”.
Posted: March 1st, 2012
A man, who sustained a severe brain trauma and now requires permanent care after being thrown from a car driven by an uninsured driver, has had his injury compensation claim against MIBI approved in court.
The man – who is a ward of court and must be named for legal reasons – was just 19 years of age when, in March 2008, he was a back seat passenger in a car which went out of control, left the road and ran into a tree. The man, who was thrown from the car as it left the road, suffered a severe brain trauma which has left him requiring permanent nursing care and only able to communicate by means of thumb up or thumb down.
Ms Justice Mary Irvine at the High Court was told that the driver of the car had been uninsured, and that an MIBI injury compensation claim against the Motor Insurers´ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) had been made. She also was told that an agreement had been reached between the man´s legal representatives and MIBI to award 4.25 million Euros to the victim – an amount which had been reduced by 20 per cent to account for the man´scontributory negligence of failing to wear a seatbelt.
The judge approved the MIBI injury compensation settlement of the unnamed man´s injury compensation claim against MIBI, stating that it was an excellent settlement which would provide the car he required for the rest of his life. She also ordered that the foster mother who had been caring for the victim since his accident should receive an immediate lump sum payment of 544,800 Euros to cover the expenses and hospital bills she had already incurred.
Posted: October 8th, 2011
A sixteen year old schoolboy, who sustained deep cuts in his thigh when climbing over a supermarket car park fence, has had a schoolboy car park injury settlement of 36,800 Euros approved in the Circuit Civil Court.
Michael Hogan of Firhouse, County Dublin, was just eleven years old when the accident happened in 2006. Climbing over a supermarket car park fence at the Firhouse Shopping Centre, he caught his leg on a protruding and unprotected nail, which tore a deep V-shaped wound into the inside of his left thigh.
Michael´s injuries were so bad that he had to have a double layer of inner flesh stitched together under a general anaesthetic and, although he has recovered now, will be left with a permanent scar as a reminder of his injury.
Liability for the car park injury was not contested by the owners of the Firhouse Shopping centre – Colverton Limited – and Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard that the defendants had made a settlement offer of 36,800 Euros. The judge approved the compensation offer, ordering that it should be invested in court funds until Michael´s 18th birthday in March 2015.
Posted: July 24th, 2011
A woman who was hit by a van while crossing a busy Dublin street has been awarded almost 178,000 Euros in Dublin van crash compensation in the High Court.
Amy McKernan (36) from North Ewington, Oxfordshire, was crossing the road at the junction of Wicklow Street and Clarendon Street on May 7th 2002, when she was hit by a van driven by Yuk Fong from Dublin. The force of the crash knocked her onto the bonnet of the vehicle, before she landed on the road surface – suffering facial and back injuries.
In her Dublin van crash victim claim against Mr Fong and the owner of the van – Mr Yau Tsali Li – Amy claimed that the van was driven at excessive speed, as she had seen the van pulling away from the Chinese restaurant outside which it had been parked and felt she still had plenty of time to cross the road.
Yuk Fong and Yau Tsali Li refuted the claims, and counter-claimed that Amy had contributed to her own injuries by failing to keep a proper lookout. However, as Amy was about to step onto the pavement when the accident occurred, Mr. Justice John Quirke at the High Court determined that Amy had established negligence in the driving of the van, whereas the defendants had failed to show that Amy had in any way been responsible for the Dublin van crash and her injuries.
