At Rogers Personal Injury Solicitors, we assist clients all over Ireland who are seeking compensation for their injuries and losses after a road traffic accident. Car accident claims are by far the most common type of personal injury claim in Ireland. The general public are very aware of their legal rights and entitlements under Irish law when it comes to a car accident. However there seems to be little understanding of what a Solicitor actually does during the process of securing compensation in these cases.
For the purpose of this blog post, we will use a fictional character named John.
John was driving along the busy M50 motorway in Dublin during rush hour traffic. He slowed down as there was a slow-moving traffic in front of him. Suddenly there was a bang. John had been hit from behind by a truck that clearly was not paying attention to the traffic in front. John's car was badly damaged and he felt pain in his right shoulder.
John pulled onto the hard shoulder and exchanged details with the truck driver, he called the Garda and they attended. The following day he attended his GP surgery where he was prescribed with pain killers and was advised to seek physiotherapy if the pain did not subside. A few days later it was obvious that the injury was serious, so John made contact with Rogers Solicitors.
So what happens next, and what do Solicitors actually do?
John attended a meeting at Rogers Solicitors office. The meeting was comprised of:
A detailed description of the accident circumstances. All relevant details were given to the Solicitors.
An explanation of funding and how "no win no fee" actually works.
All paperwork was signed by John.
An explanation was given to John of the next steps in the case.
John left the office happy that his case was in good hands. Below is an explanation of what actually happens next, and the work done on a case like this by a Personal Injury Solicitor.
Medical records - medical records are requested from all treating medics. In this case, we would write to John's GP and the physiotherapist. These medical records are requested under GDPR and typically take around 1 month to arrive.
Write to Third Party Insurer - The truck driver was insured be a well known Irish Insurance Company. We would send a "letter before action" without delay, in which we advise that we seek compensation from their insured driver regarding our client's personal injuries and losses.
Several weeks later we received all medical records. Having considered the medical records in detail, it is quite obvious that John has sustained a nasty soft tissue injury to his right shoulder and neck. We now request a medical report from his treating GP. This medical report usually takes serveral weeks to arrive, and John will be asked by his GP to attend a consultation so that the report can be prepared.
By this stage the Third Party Insurer has admitted liability (responsibility) for the accident. This was no surprise at all, given the fact that their insured driver had rear ended John. The insurer arranged for John's car to be repaired at no cost to him, which he was very happy about.
The insurance company asked if John was interested in settling his case before submitting his case with PIAB. We reviewed the GP report, the GP records, and the physio records. It seemed that the recovery process would be relatively straightforward, so we were happy to enter into "Without Prejudice" settlement discussion.
A good offer was made in respect of John's injuries and an offer was also made to cover the wages that John lost after taking some time off work after the accident. The case was settled quickly and efficiently, with little fuss.
Four weeks later, John's cheque arrived and he collected it from he office. He was delighted with the level of service that he received.
Not all cases are this straightforward. Other cases go through the Injuries Board process, and other cases proceed all the way to Hearing at Court. It is hard to predict how long a case will take to resolve. In cases like John's where liability is clear and the injuries are not complicated, there is a good chance that the case can settle quickly.
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