The decision of Mr Justice Cian Ferriter in Charlena McLoughlin v David Dealey and HSE [2023] IEHC 106 was delivered on 7 March 2023 and shows the judiciary adopting a more sensible approach to personal injury plaintiffs. A Plaintiff cannot be faulted for bringing a claim when they have suffered an injury as a result of no fault of their own. Solicitors may appoint medical experts to review the Plaintiff where this is necessary. The importance of experience when it comes to choosing a solicitor cannot be over emphasised. Experienced solicitors will be familiar with appropriate experts and can guide you in this regard. An extract from the case is recited below:-
“Plaintiffs who have suffered personal injuries (often in life-transforming ways) through no fault of their own and as result of the actionable wrongdoing of another party are perfectly entitled to bring a claim for damages for such injuries before the courts. A plaintiff is entitled, subject to the rules of court and the legal principles applicable to expert witnesses, to engage and call an independent medical expert in personal injuries litigation just as a plaintiff is entitled to call an independent expert witness in other forms of civil litigation. A solicitor is entitled in accordance with their duties to their client to advise a plaintiff to engage the services of a medical expert. A solicitor with experience in personal injuries litigation will typically be in a position to recommend suitably qualified and experienced medical experts who may be able to assist in the litigation. A solicitor acting for a plaintiff in a personal injuries case does not have to be a medical expert in order to responsibly advise the plaintiff to engage an appropriate specialist medical expert to assist in advancing his or her claims in litigation, just as a solicitor does not have to be an engineer in order to responsibly advise the retention of an engineering expert.”
If you have genuinely been hurt in an accident that was not your fault. You are entitled to bring a case for compensation.
