Personal Injury Law in Ireland
Seven Steps in Your Personal Injury Claim 
It is very important to note that a personal injury action will take some time to complete. It's important that cases are not settled until there is full knowledge of a client's prognosis, the future effects of the injury, and any lingering side effects. On average, a personal injury case in Ireland can take from 18 months to 2 years to be settled.
Step one: Talk to a solicitor in our offices. After we've examined the facts of your case and reviewed all the relevant information, we may commence a personal injury action for you.
Step Two: Get medical reports. A specialist your solicitor will send you to will assess your medical condition.
Step Three: Apply to Personal Injuries Assessment Board. Recent legislation requires that, prior to issuing court proceedings for compensation, am application must be sent to the PIAB. Your solicitor will have experience with this process. If the defendants agree to an assessment of damages, this can be carried out with PIAB without going to court. Your solicitor guides you through any settlement discussions that might take place during the process, as well as ensuring that you receive an appropriate level of compensation.
If a defendant disagrees with an assessment or refuses to deal with a matter through the PIAB, the matter will proceed to court. This can also happen if an award is considered to be unsatisfactory by either party. If this happens, legal proceedings will be issued.
Step Four: Issue legal proceedings. In this phase of the process, your solicitor will issue legal proceedings against the organization, group, or individual deemed responsible for your injury. How they respond to the legal proceedings determines what happens next: they can contest the action, or agree to settlement discussions.
Step Five: Get reports from experts. Your solicitor may need additional reports from medical specialists, technical specialists, or engineers to back up your case.
Step Six: Wait. The legal system in Ireland is fairly slow and is quite busy. Sometimes, getting a case to court can take as long as 18 months. So that your injury itself and the impact of the injury can be properly evaluated, it is normal for this time to pass, and is, in fact, beneficial to you.
You may also have to provide financial information to show loss of earnings as a result of the accident.
Defendants may wish to make a settlement offer out of court during this time. You will have the expert, experienced advice of a barrister as well as your solicitor to guide you through the process and communicate with the defendant's legal team for you. If you and the defendants fail to reach an agreement, the case will go to court.
Step Seven: Go to court. You will be required to testify in court, and the defendant's legal team will ask you questions. Expert witnesses may be called on to support the case on both sides. A judge, based on the arguments from both sides will make a decision within a few weeks. Should you win the case, you should receive an amount of money plus your costs incurred, such as legal costs or medical costs. This payment should be delivered to you within four to eight weeks, and will be made through your solicitor. If you lose the case, you will not only be required to pay your costs, but the costs of the defendant, too. A solicitor is not permitted to calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement in contentious business.
Our Goal
The goal of our firm is to provide honest, courteous and diligent representation while striving to keep your legal costs down and making the legal process as easy as possible on you.
Call us for a no-obligation consultation
Explore our law articles and learn more about us
Rest easy knowing your case is in experienced hands
* In contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or a proportion of any award or settlement.
The solicitors at Damian Nolan & Co.,
Solicitors (incorporating William A.
James & Co.)
have more than 40 years of combined experience
in the following areas of law:
Residential conveyancing, commercial conveyancing, family law, divorce, separations, child custody matters, personal injury*, business law, wills and probate, civil litigation*, employment law, defamation, civil litigation*
Telephone:
1-800-444 333 