PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS FAQ'S
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PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS FAQ'S
1. Can I make a Personal Injury Claim?
You are entitled to make a Personal Injury Claim for any loss you sustain as a result of an accident if an individual, a business or organisation is proven to have breached their duty of care towards you and is either entirely or partly to blame for the injuries or loss which you sustained.
There are many different ways in which a person may suffer an accident and suffer injury as a repercussion of that accident, in circumstances where it was not their fault, whether it be through a road traffic accident, through medical negligence, through an accident at work or a trip or fall.
You should always take the appropriate professional advice prior to deciding to pursue a Personal Injury Claim.
2. How much is my Personal Injury Claim worth?
It is very difficult to quantify how much a Personal Injury Claim is worth from the offset. There are a variety of issues which can affect the amount of compensation which a person could be entitled to receive in compensation, such as: whether there was issues relating to contributory negligence (for example, if you were 20% at fault for your accident the amount of compensation you would be entitled to, may be reduced by that 20%). It will also depend on the nature and extent of the injuries a person suffers. Other aspects to a claim could be loss of earnings where a person has been out of work for a period of time as a repercussion of their injuries. Each Personal Injury claim is subjective and therefore the amount of compensation a person will receive will depend on the type of injuries sustained, the circumstances involved in the accident which caused their injuries and their own personal circumstances.
3. How long does it take to claim compensation for a Personal Injury Claim?
Every case is different and some of the different aspects which determine how long it will take to claim compensation are as follows:-
i. It may take a considerable period of time to determine what the extent of an individuals injuries are and therefore it would be unadvisable to settle a Personal Injury Claim in circumstances where a complete Medical Report had not been received outlining the long term consequences of the injuries sustained.
ii. In almost all Personal Injury cases, the matter needs to be brought before the Injuries Board (there are a number of exceptions to this including claims for medical negligence) if your case is submitted to the Injuries Board and all parties are happy with the assessment given by the Injuries Board the matter may be dealt with quite quickly, however, in certain cases the person defending the claim or the persons defending the claim may not wish for the claim to go through the Injuries Board and in these circumstances the claim may be referred to Court. It is also the case that if the Injuries Board make an assessment and either party or both parties are not happy with the award given, then and in that event the case may be referred to the Courts. Where cases are brought before the Courts to be resolved they usually will take a longer period of time within which to settle.
4. How long do I have to make a claim from the date of the accident?
A person has two years from the date of an accident or the date of knowledge that they suffered loss within which to make a claim. There are certain exceptions to this rule for instance where a person suffers injury as a repercussion of a accident prior to reaching the age of majority (eighteen years of age), they then have two years from the date of reaching the age of majority within which to make a claim.
If a person believes that they are entitled to make a claim for injuries they suffered they should act quickly to take the appropriate legal and/ or professional advice in respect of the injuries they sustained otherwise they may lose the right to make a claim due to lapse of time.
5. Will I have to attend at Court to receive compensation?
With only some minor exceptions, for instance claims for Medical Negligence, most Personal Injury Claims now go through the Injuries Board. The Injuries Board has been established to deal with Personal Injury Claims. In certain circumstances the Defendant(s) may decide that they do not want the Injuries Board to assess the claim as they, for example: may not believe that they are liable for the injuries a person has sustained. In these circumstances the Injuries Board will issue an Authorisation and the parties to the Proceedings may bring the case into Court.
It is also the case that where the Injuries Board process is completed and the Injuries Board makes an assessment of how much compensation should be paid to the person making the claim, it is then open, to either party to the Claim to reject the award given by the Injuries Board; and in those circumstances the Injuries Board will provide an Authorisation, so that the matter may be brought before the Courts to be adjudicated on.