Can I Claim?

The history of judgments in Ireland makes it very clear when you are likely to be successful in making a personal injury claim.

It is not enough to have been in an accident or to have suffered injury in order to obtain compensation from the courts. It must be clear that the party or parties you have sued were at least partly to blame for the accident and the injuries that you have suffered.

It may be the case that a number of people are partly to blame for an accident, including you. In this situation, known as contributory negligence, the court will apportion or divide the blame between the different people involved. For example, if you were injured in a car accident but were not wearing a seat-belt, a court might find that you were 15% at fault for your injuries. As a result, the court would only award you 85% of the compensation that your injuries are valued at.

Your claim for compensation will be divided into two parts:

General damages

This is compensation for the pain, suffering and inconvenience you experienced and will continue to experience as a result of the accident.

The court will decide the level of these damages by estimating the gravity of your injuries. It will do this by considering all the medical evidence before it, the pain you have already suffered, and your prognosis for the future, i.e., how long and to what extent you are likely to continue suffering.

Special damages

This is compensation for the financial expenses you have already incurred, and will incur in the future, as a result of the accident. These damages might include the cost of repairing your car (if relevant), your medical expenses, your loss of earnings as a result of being unable to return to work, and expenses related to your injury, such as travel, home-help, etc.

You may be asked to produce receipts and bills to prove you have incurred all of these expenses, so it is important to keep a careful file of every bill and receipt.

When will you receive your compensation award?

Usually, awards as a result of civil cases in Ireland are paid by cheque by the Defendant to your solicitor within 6 to 8 weeks.

Information taken in part from CitizensInformation.ie on the 15th of August, 2009.