Why Should I Claim for Personal Injury?

A personal injury claim is never acceptable if a person has not been hurt as a result of a lack of duty by another. If another person or institution was liable for an injured individual’s harm, (usually) the first place they will make lodge a claim will be the Injuries Board. The Injuries Board is entrusted with reviewing most personal injury claims on a no-fault basis. This means they will not examine who is at blame but will make an estimate of the worth of an injury based on medical evidence and on their records of prior identical injury claim assessments and court awards. If one or both parties (the person filing the claim and whomever is replying to that claim) reject the assessment the Injuries Board have no futher involvement in the process except to give the injured person with a piece of paper called an Authorisation. That approval empowers the aggrieved person to go to litigation (eg to court) if they desire.

Litigating (suing), when you are having experienced a personal injury, is fully the discretion of the wounded person. You may need advice in making that option. You cannot rationally sue when nobody else is at blame for your injury. But, if they are, the degree to which you are damaged is the decisive element. Compensation is granted by reference to the seriousness of the damage and its effects. You have a Constitutional right to judgement for adequate compensation if someone has damaged you.

Consideration of the question of the capacity of the perpetrator to pay relies on the individual facts of each case.

You have the legal right to compensation for your injuries when they are caused through the negligence or carelessness of another.

The estimation of losses in personal injury situations uses a two fold methodology. The courts analyse the degree of your harm and award “General Damages” for that component of the injury. Every victim differs to a greater or lesser degree from other victims therefore the general damages award is adapted to the medical facts of each unique injury. The medical effects of the injury, pain, suffering and its length are put into the “General Damages” category.

There is another category; “Special Damages”. Some victims have minimal losses for this category while others have large losses. Typical components of this category are:

• Medical bills

• Specialist equipment to increase freedom

• Ongoing medical care and home aid

• Loss of Earnings

Some injured folks have extra losses for this group. The overriding concept is to pay a victim his or her out-of-pocket costs or losses. In principle, they are ascertainable accurately but occasionally they are not- future loss of profits bein an example of a difficult to measure particular injury.

Solicitors for Personal Injury and Auto Accidents

In Ireland, practically all personal injury claims must go before one of two boards before any action may be brought in court. The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) was established up by the Government to settle claims between you and the entity that caused your injury. The Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI), on the other hand, processes your claim if you have been injured in a traffic accident by a motorist who does not have automobile accident insurance.

People sometimes assume that the prerequisite of submitting a claim to the PIAB or MIBI implies they do not need a solicitor, even when making a claim for a major accident or injury. However, the system is not as straightforward as it looks, and it is frequently in your best interests to get the services of an experienced personal injury counsel who can lead you through the PIAB or MIBI procedure.

Claiming from the PIAB

The PIAB will inform you that you don’t need a solicitor. However, the PIAB will also not provide you legal advice, and while the claims procedure may appear easy, there are a number of regularly encountered problems in the claims process.

• You could fail to submit documents, forms and/or files in the right format, within the allotted time limit, or by the proper means (sometimes mail, sometimes registered mail, sometimes electronic), placing your claim in peril;

• Only the initial injury report from your GP is acceptable, but follow-up GP reports or referrals to a specialist may demonstrate a more serious or chronic ailment, and you are essentially prohibited from claiming for that injury;

• You may accept the PIAB settlement offer, only to find that your injury grows worse and you have no further recourse to prolong your claim;

• Submitting documentation that is deceptive (even in mistake) might result in your claim being denied and perhaps criminal prosecution.

Hassan Soomro