I have been told that there is no point making a three car collision accident compensation claim to the Injuries Board Ireland as they will only reject my application and tell me to seek compensation for a three car collision accident in court. Is this right?
Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor
Editor in Chief
Question:
I have been told that there is no point making a three car collision accident compensation claim to the Injuries Board Ireland as they will only reject my application and tell me to seek compensation for a three car collision accident in court. Is this right?
Answer:
The importance of making an application for an assessment of three car collision accident compensation to the Injuries Board Ireland is going to depend on the circumstances of your accident and whether more than one party was responsible for causing the three car collision in which you were injured.
If only one vehicle was responsible for the accident in which you were injured, only that vehicle´s details and the details of the driver should be included as a respondent in the application for assessment submitted to the Injuries Board Ireland.
The Injuries Board Ireland will then write to the respondent asking for consent to assess your three car collision accident compensation claim and, provided liability is acknowledged, you will be advised how much compensation for a three car collision accident you are entitled to when the Injuries Board Ireland has completed its assessment.
If two drivers shared responsibility for causing the three car collision, you should complete both sets of details. However the Injuries Board Ireland does not apportion percentages of blame – even 50/50 – so they will issue you with an “Authorisation” to pursue your claim for three car accident compensation in court.
Court proceedings are not always necessary for, when both parties admit their partial liability, the division of responsibility and how much compensation for a three car collision accident you should receive can be negotiated between a solicitor acting on your behalf and the insurance companies of the negligent drivers.
Having the “Authorisation” to issue court proceedings will be a handy negotiating tool should discussions over liability, the division of responsibility or how much three car collision accident compensation you are entitled to fail to resolve your claim for three car accident compensation.
Therefore, there is a sound reason of going through the procedure of applying to the Injuries Board Ireland for an assessment of your three car collision accident compensation claim and ideally you should discuss the completion of your application with an experienced solicitor before the application is submitted.