Why You Should Consult a Car Accident Solicitor
If you are considering making a claim for car accident injury compensation, it is always in your best interests to consult a car accident solicitor for legal advice. An Irish car accident solicitor will be more familiar with the completion of the assessment form to the Injuries Board Ireland, will know which documents to submit to maximise the value of your car accident injury compensation claim and can also negotiate on your behalf with the negligent driver´s insurers to obtain an out of court settlement of car accident injury compensation even before the Injuries Board Ireland has completed their assessment.
At a time when you may be in considerable pain from the injuries sustained in a car accident, a car accident solicitor in Ireland can take care of all the procedures required to make a successful car accident injury compensation claim, can intercede should you be approached directly by a negligent driver´s insurers and obtain interim payments of car accident injury compensation should the negligent driver admit responsibility for the accident in which you were injured, but the insurance company delay agreeing a final settlement of car accident compensation.
A Car Accident Solicitor Will Confirm Your Eligibility to Claim
Irrespective of how careless another road user has been, you will only be eligible to claim car accident compensation if you can prove that you have sustained an injury which is directly attributable to another driver´s negligence. Proving that you have sustained an injury will be straightforward if you attended a hospital immediately after a car accident. However, if you delayed receiving medical treatment without good reason or failed, to keep follow-up appointments following your discharge from hospital, it could be claimed that you contributed to the extent of your injury and how much compensation for a car accident you receive could be reduced to reflect your own lack of care.
There can also be complications when making a car accident injury compensation claim when it comes to establishing negligence. Even if the negligent driver admitted his responsibility for causing the accident in which you were injured, he could still change his or her mind by the time the Injuries Board Ireland write to their insurers requesting consent to assess your claim. Your car accident solicitor will therefore compile the strongest possible car accident injury compensation claim on your behalf which will include police reports, roadside CCTV video where available and witness testimonies to prove the negligence of the driver responsible for your injuries.
Car Accident Solicitors and the Injuries Board Ireland
If you have had the good fortune never to sustain an injury which entitled you to compensation before, you will not have previously encountered the Application Form A which has to be submitted to the Injuries Board Ireland. Although the hard copy looks straightforward to complete, and most people with a little computer knowledge will be able to manage the online application, there is very little opportunity to advise the Injuries Board Ireland what impact the injuries from your car accident have had on your quality of life.
Your “loss of amenity” – the lack of ability to perform day-to-day tasks or enjoy social and leisure pursuits – is a substantial element of a car accident compensation claim and, if you are unable to illustrate just how much your quality of life has suffered because of your loss of amenity, the Injuries Board will be unable to include this consequence of your injury when they assess your car accident injury compensation claim. A car accident solicitor will be able to overcome this issue and ensure that you are fully compensated when you make a claim for car accident compensation.
Car Accident Solicitors and Out of Court Settlements
Considering that it could take almost a year for the Injuries Board Ireland to assess a claim for car accident injury compensation – given that the negligent driver is allowed 90 days in which to consent for the assessment to begin – your solicitor will also approach his or her insurance company with the option of settling out of court. Although there are sometimes advantages to waiting for the Injuries Board Ireland´s assessment, should it be considered low by your car accident solicitor, he or she would then have to advise you to reject it and pursue your claim in court.
By starting negotiations with the negligent driver´s insurers at the first practical opportunity, your car accident solicitor may be able to obtain a fair and adequate settlement of car accident injury compensation within just several months. Should the insurance company be unwilling to resolve your car accident injury compensation claim to your car accident solicitor´s satisfaction, court action might be necessary. However, as the costs of defending a court action against a strong car accident injury compensation claim are likely to be significant, it is more often the case that the insurance company will find a compromise with your car accident solicitor´s calculations.
Contacting a Car Accident Solicitor for the First Time
It is understandable that you may be nervous about contacting a car accident solicitor for the very first time. Nobody setting out on a car journey would ever have considered that their trip would lead to the need for a car accident solicitor, and the shock of the accident in which you were injured could have affected your confidence to speak with a car accident solicitor.
Therefore, you should write down any questions you wish to ask the solicitor and have a pen and paper handy to record the answers. If the conversation becomes too much for you to handle in one go, ask the solicitor to call you back once you have had the opportunity to gather your thoughts. Finally, try not to delay contacting a car accident solicitor for the first time, as valuable evidence in support of your car accident injury compensation claim may have to be gathered quickly.