Special Damages

I have read your web site and understand what special damages are, but when I come to claim special damages on the Injuries Board application form there barely seems to be any space for details. What should I do?

Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor

Editor in Chief

Eoin P. Campbell

Question:

I have read your web site and understand what special damages are, but when I come to claim special damages on the Injuries Board application form there barely seems to be any space for details. What should I do?

Answer:

If your application for an assessment to the Injuries Board Ireland contains a significant amount of special damages – income you have lost or expenses you have incurred which are attributable to the injury for which you are claiming – it is advisable to complete your application online.

Part 8 of the online application to the Injuries Board (“Special Damages”) gives you the opportunity to state the amount you are claiming for loss of wages if known and Part 9 (“Medical and Other Expenses”) includes text boxes which allow thousands of characters to be entered in comparison to the relatively small area on the hard copy of the Application Form A.

By completing your claim for special damages online, you should have as much space as you need to provide details of the special damages you wish to claim and – as the facility exists to upload any supporting documents – you are able to keep your original receipts rather than post them to Cork with the application form.

Assuming that you have access to a private computer rather than a shared or public one, your online special damages claim is processed on the Injuries Board secure server and a unique user number and password assigned to you. This enables you to go back into your online application form and make amendments if necessary or to track the progress of your claim for injury compensation.

However, special damages can often comprise a considerable part of a compensation claim when you have sustained an injury in an accident for which you were not to blame and, if your injury means that you will be unable to work for a long time or will need structural alterations to your home to allow wheelchair access, it is important that your application is reviewed by an experienced solicitor to ensure that every item which qualifies for special damages is adequately accounted for.

Even if it is difficult for you to visit a solicitor in the near future, it would be in your best interests to discuss the circumstances of your personal injury over the telephone to ensure that nothing is omitted on your application form to the Injuries Board which may affect your entitlement to claim special damages.