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Personal Injury

A Guide To Personal Injury Actions

This guide is provided by Halpin and Company, Solicitors to assist you when considering making a claim for compensation as a result of personal injury.

It is important to keep accurate records, including all medical receipts, photos of the injury and/or accident location. This can be useful as can remembering to take the names of anyone who was present at the time of the accident.

In order to be successful in a personal injury claim you will need to prove that the injuries suffered by you were caused by the negligence of the other party involved in the accident.

You should get legal advice as soon as possible after the personal injury occurring by contacting Halpin and Company Solicitors on 021 – 4251843 or info@halpinsolicitors.ie . Full details of your accident and injury can be given to us in confidence, we will also answer any questions you have and advise you of your best options.

We will then write out to you to confirm your instructions and we will also notify in writing the other party and/or their insurers that you feel they were at fault and were the cause of the accident. Depending on the location of the accident and/or the circumstances we may engage an engineer on your behalf.

We will also contact your doctor to request a medical report which typically costs approximately €300 to produce. This medical report will be forwarded to us and we will forward a copy to you for review. Once you have had a chance to look through the medical report you will then call into us and sign the PIAB application form.

This will then be sent to PIAB together with a copy of your medical report and the application fee of €45.00.

Once PIAB receive the completed application form and medical report they will contact the party you allege to have caused the accident. The other party will have 90 days within which to accept PIAB assessing your claim. If they reject the assessment, an authorisation is issued by PIAB to allow you pursue your claim through the courts. If they accept assessment, PIAB will then assess the claim.

PIAB may send you to an independent medical doctor who will examine you and provide a medical report directly to PIAB. Once the independent medical report is received by PIAB they then request a copy of your receipts as proof of any out of pocket expenses you may seek. Once these are returned to PIAB, PIAB assesses all documents.

They then make a determination as to the amount of compensation that may be warranted. This is communicated to both parties together with a copy of the independent medical report. The claimant has 28 days to accept or reject the award and the respondent has 21 days. If both parties agree to this amount the party at fault or their insurance company issues a settlement cheque. If one of the parties rejects the PIAB assessment, then an authorisation to proceed through the courts will be provided to the injured party and proceedings will then be issued to take the personal injury claim through the courts.

There is a time limit under which Personal Injury cases can be taken. In general, you have two years from the date of knowledge of the personal injury within which to make a claim. There are certain exceptions; in relation to an accident to a child under the age of 18, a claim may be taken by their parent or guardian on behalf of the child two years from the date of their 18th birthday.

Claims through PIAB take on average 9 months once the respondent accepts the assessment. If the case goes through the courts it can take a number of years. However as with all contentious matters, it will depend on the facts of each individual case.

At all times through the process, Halpin and Company solicitors will provide you with updates, advice and keep in regular contact during the process as we recognise that this can be a stressful time for clients.

Contact our expert Personal Injury Solicitors by email on info@halpinsolicitors.ie or by telephone on 021-425-1843.

* In contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.

This guide is provided for general information purposes only and does not form part of any legal advice.


HALPIN & Co. Solicitors | Practical Experience, Trusted Advice – from Solicitors in Cork

PLEASE CONTACT HALPIN & CO. SOLICITORS
021 425 1843 if you would like assistance with your legal query.

Halpin Solicitors Cork

7 South Mall, Cork City

Tel: 021 425 1843

Email: info@halpinsolicitors.ie

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