The Steps Involved in Taking a Personal Injury Claim
Lodging Your Claim
When lodging a Personal Injury claim it is important to remember that it takes time and is a lengthy process. If you have suffered from an injury, you have two years from the date of the accident to lodge a claim. The majority of personal injury claims must be lodged first through the Personal Injury Assessment Board (PIAB), with the exception of Medical Negligence cases.
Once you have contacted your Solicitor and had your initial consultation, your Solicitor will work on compiling all relevant information and evidence together to support your claim. The first form that will be completed is a ‘Form A’ which is a 13-page document that your Solicitor will help you complete. It costs €45 to submit a claim online and €90 if submitted by post.
When submitting a ‘Form A’, a Medical Report must also be submitted by your treating doctor or GP. This is one of the most important documents required to allow your case to progress.
Once your claim has been submitted, PIAB will acknowledge receipt of the application and will notify the person at fault of your claim known as the Respondent, who will have 90 days to respond to the claim.
Once the application has been submitted and accepted by PIAB, the two-year time limit in which you have to bring a personal Injury claim will be frozen, during the period of time in which PIAB take to assess the claim.
PIAB Assessment
- Determining the Value
Once the Respondent has been notified, they can agree to have your claim assessed.
The majority of Respondents agree to have the claim assessed.
To assess the claim fully, PIAB will determine the monetary value of your claim, meaning the compensation they believe you are entitled to. With the help of your Solicitor, we will complete a document for all ‘out-of-pocket expenses’ and ‘loss of earnings’ and provide proof of these to PIAB.
Once all of this information has been submitted to PIAB, they will make an assessment determining how much compensation they will award in respect of your claim. They do this by referring to the “Personal Injury Guidelines”, which are the current guideline levels in place for the awarding of compensation by PIAB and the Courts.
Once this assessment has been issued, you would need to consider the suggested compensation amount. Your Solicitor will be able to advise you on this; however, the decision to accept or reject the assessment will remain solely with you.
PIAB Assessment– Accepted
- Compensation Agreed
If the PIAB assessment has been accepted by both you and the Respondent, this means that you both agree that the compensation suggested by PIAB is appropriate for the injuries you have sustained.
To obtain the amount from the Respondent or their insurance company, PIAB will issue you with an ‘Order to Pay’ which is similar to a Court Order.
In the majority of cases, the Respondent is represented by an insurance company who will handle the matter on their behalf and any compensation awarded will most likely be paid by the insurer.
PIAB Assessment – Rejected
- Going to Court
Should either you or the Respondent reject the PIAB Assessment, you will be provided with the Authorization from PIAB. This document allows your Solicitor to issue Court Proceedings against the person at fault for your accident/injury.
Your Solicitor will gather further updated information and evidence from you to support your claim and will instruct a Barrister to prepare the necessary Legal Proceedings to progress the case to Court for a Judge to decide on the outcome.