In a personal injury case reported in the Irish Examiner on Wednesday, November 11th, Mr. Justice Kevin Cross stated that the Injuries Board compensation guidelines, which appropriate personal injury awards, were out of date and, therefore, not relevant in the case.

While the claims process may appear to be relatively straightforward, there are a number of legal issues that will require specialist legal advice, expertise and representation to ensure you receive fair and sufficient compensation for your personal injuries. This can only be achieved if you understand how to factor the full extent of your physical injuries into your claim, know the range and type of damages you are entitled to claim.

We can undertake the necessary work (including obtaining the details and medical records/reports) to ensure the full extent of your injuries is appreciated for the purposes of achieving fair and equitable compensation.

In terms of assessing the adequacy of an offer of settlement from Injuries Board, we can advise you as to the amount of compensation a court is likely to award in your particular personal injuries claim thereby allowing you to assess whether the Injuries Board’s offer is adequate or fair. We will also advise about the potential benefits and risks of pursuing your personal injury case through the court system.

Our legal advice will appreciate the complexity of your case and ensure all the potential consequences of your injuries are factored into your claim. This will protect your right to fair and equitable compensation, which is your constitutional entitlement by way of access to the courts.

 

Here is an overview of the critical legal issues that will inevitably require an expert legal approach to protect your position as you advance your claim through the Injuries Board.

Contact us at help@mlaw.ie or phone 01 87 444 22.

 

1. You must comply with the strict time limits set out by the statute of limitations & the rigid procedure for submitting your claim to the INJURIES BOARD - click here

2. Will you recover compensation that is fair and sufficient – is the full extent of your personal injuries factored into your claim? - click here

3. Will you recover compensation that is fair and sufficient – is the full extent of your personal injuries factored into your claim? Knowing the type of damages you should be claiming - click here

4. You must protect your legal interests and entitlements – knowing when a settlement is fair & your options if it isn’t - click here

5. What Can We Do For You? Review your application and your Injuries Board offer - click here

1. You must comply with the strict time limits set out by the statute of limitations & the rigid procedure for submitting your claim to the INJURIES BOARD

You must submit your claim to the Injuries Board (i.e. application form, necessary supporting documentation, including a comprehensive medical report) arising from your personal injury within two years from the date when the cause of action occurred, or from the date from when you knew, or ought to have known of your injury. Failure to do so will result in your claim becoming statute-barred (or time-barred) and you will lose your right to recover compensation for your injuries.

 

Also, your Injuries Board application form is a critical part of the claims process and it must be properly and accurately filled in and be accompanied by a medical report that sets out relevant information about the nature of your injuries in an accurate and comprehensive manner. In order to come within the two-year time limit, you must submit the completed application form and documentation to the Injuries Board and receive from the Injuries Board a written acknowledgement that your application has been received. Otherwise time continues to run and your claim will become time-barred. 

You are required to submit a written letter to the alleged wrongdoer within two months of the date of the accident setting out the nature of the wrong alleged. If you do not send such a letter you may be penalised by having an award of costs made against you, thereby reducing the award of damages that you may ultimately recover.

At Malcomson Law, our experienced team of solicitors can assist you in completing and submitting your application to the Injuries Board within the prescribed time period. We will also draft the appropriate letter of claim to the alleged wrongdoer in a manner that protects your legal rights and does not compromise your claim.

Contact us at help@mlaw.ie or phone 01 87 444 22.

 

2. Will you recover compensation that is fair and sufficient – is the full extent of your personal injuries factored into your claim? 

At Malcomson Law we are well placed to provide you with expert legal advice on the amount of damages you are entitled to be awarded and to prepare your case to ensure that you recover that level of damages from the other side.

We will obtain the necessary expert medical legal reports that will adequately reflect the personal injuries you have suffered and address your long term medical prognosis and needs.

BE AWARE: once you settle your claim with the INJURIES BOARD there is no going back...

The Injuries Board advertises the fact that it can assist with the ‘early resolution’ of your claim and requires you to submit a medical report from your GP together with your application form so it can assess the value of your claim and make an offer of settlement to you. But in achieving an ‘early resolution’ of your case, your rights could be seriously compromised: If you settle your claim before obtaining a final medical prognosis in relation to your injuries and, after settlement, you subsequently suffer an exacerbation of your injuries, the award given in the ‘early resolution’ will not financially represent the entirety of the injuries you suffered.

It is not in your interests to settle your claim with Injuries Board before you have made a full recovery from your injuries and you have obtained a final prognosis report from the appropriate medical expert confirming that you have no underlying or ongoing medical issues. In the majority of cases involving personal injuries, you need to be medically assessed by a specialist, i.e. consultant, and/or to undergo further investigations (x-ray, MRI scan etc.) in order to ascertain whether you have a more serious underlying injuries and ongoing consequences.

 

NOTE : Your injury may not be confined to something that shows up on a scan or is physical in nature ...

Injuries can be physical or psychological as a result of an accident or due to your ongoing pain and suffering. All of these injuries are compensatable and need to be identified and factored into your claim. It has been our experience that very many accident claims also have a psychological-type impact which needs to be fully investigated and included in your claim.

Whatever the nature of your injuries, you are entitled to be examined by your own treating physicians and to postpone settling your claim until the full extent of your injuries has been ascertained and addressed by the appropriate specialist.

 

This is critical, as once you settle your claim with the Injuries Board, there is no going back – you are effectively blocked from claiming for any more serious or lingering injuries that emerge as a result of your accident, whether physical or psychological in nature.

 

At Malcomson Law, due to our expertise in the area of Personal Injuries and Health Law, we can advise you in relation to the range of medical experts that will be needed to ensure your injuries are properly investigated and factored into your personal injuries claim.

Contact us at help@mlaw.ie or phone 01 87 444 22.

 

3. Will you recover compensation that is fair and sufficient – is the full extent of your personal injuries factored into your claim? Knowing the type of damages you should be claiming 

At Malcomson Law, our main aim is to ensure you receive full and adequate compensation that reflects all of your pain, suffering, losses and expenses:

1. Compensation for the personal injuries you have suffered (i.e. general damages). We will obtain the requisite expert medical legal reports from appropriate specialists that detail your personal injuries (i.e. physical and psychological);
2. Compensation for expenses and losses that you incurred prior to the settlement of your claim and future losses that can be clearly ascertained and quantified (i.e. special damages).

You can claim compensation for losses & expenses incurred due to your injuries...

We will advise you on the type of special damages to which you may be entitled and organise the expert reports that are necessary to substantiate the losses and expenses element of your claim which may include the following:

1. Past loss of earnings due to your absence from work.
2. Future loss of earnings due to ongoing injuries that are impairing your recovery and ability to work.

In such a case we arrange for you to be medically assessed with a view to obtaining an expert medical legal report from the appropriate specialist setting out why your ability to work and earn into the future might be impaired. We also obtain a report from a Vocational Assessor/Rehabilitation Consultant that sets out the type of employment and the level of earnings that you can be reasonably expected to achieve in the future taking into account the nature of your injury and your anticipated recovery. This element of your claim may attract significant damages if your injuries are such that your future ability to work will be impaired for a lifetime. These damages could include compensation for:

1. Medical expenses (visits to GP and pharmacy bills).
2. Travel expenses (to and from GP, hospitals, specialists etc.).
3. Specialist medical assistance costs (such as physiotherapist, psychologist etc.).
4. Nursing care assistance (where you needed nursing or home help assistance and obtaining a report from a Nursing Care Assistant).
5. Housing/car adaptation in cases of serious injuries (and obtaining an Aids and Appliances Report).

 

4. You must protect your legal interests and entitlements – knowing when a settlement is fair & your options if it isn’t 

We strongly advise you to obtain specialist legal advice from a personal injuries solicitor in relation to your Injuries Board claim. Specialist legal advice will ensure that you do not accept a settlement amount that is well below the true value of your claim. At Malcomson Law, we will advise you as to whether any settlement offer from the Injuries Board is fair and adequate taking into account the medical and legal issues arising in relation to your case.

The Injuries Board does not provide legal advice – it was designed to be a financially efficient method of resolving claims potentially at your expense ...

The Injuries Board will not advise you on any of the legal issues to be addressed in submitting and progressing your claim toward settlement; the Injuries Board will only process paperwork and make an award based on the content of the documentation that you submit. The Injuries Board will not query whether your injuries have fully resolved, if you obtained a final prognosis report or whether you incurred expenses and a loss of earnings, nursing care assistance costs etc. The Injuries Board was set up as a result of lobbying by the insurance industry so as to reduce legal costs and awards of compensation payable by that industry. The Injuries Board will therefore be seeking to minimise legal costs and the amount of compensation payable to you; they will not be concerned with whether your settlement is fair, sufficient or adequate.

The other side are legally represented, you should be too...

The Injuries Board and those whom you are claiming against will have access to specialist lawyers, claims managers, claims assessors and adjustors. Whether it’s an employer, a property owner or the driver of a motor vehicle, they will almost certainly be represented by their own solicitor (and perhaps a barrister) and an insurance company solicitor. It is therefore important that you take steps to ensure that your claim and your interests are also protected.

Claimants who reject the Injuries Board’s offers frequently recover higher compensation in court & get their legal costs covered as well...

It is important to point out that often, in our experience, claimants who reject an Injuries Board offer of settlement and proceed to court recover a higher and fairer amount of compensation. This is often achieved through negotiating with the other side’s legal team and insurers. If you do so you may also recover compensation exclusive of legal costs in which you are entitled to have your solicitor’s legal fees and costs paid for by the other side.

Therefore, for all of the aforementioned reasons, it is always in your best interest to speak first with a specialist personal injuries solicitor.

Contact us at help@mlaw.ie or phone 01 87 444 22.

 

5. What Can We Do For You? Review your application and your Injuries Board offer.

We will review your application before you lodge your claim to the Injuries Board to ensure that you receive fair and sufficient compensation for your personal injuries. We can undertake the necessary work (including obtaining the details and medical records/reports) to ensure that the full extent of your injuries is appreciated. If you have already lodged your claim, we will review the offer of settlement you have received from the Injuries Board in order to advise you as to whether it is sufficient and to the amount of compensation a court is likely to award in your particular personal injuries claim. We will also advise about the potential benefits and risks of pursuing your personal injury case through the court system. The cost for a review either before submission or after, is in or around €700.*

 

For more details email us at help@mlaw.ie or phone 01 87 444 22.