Personal injury and illness can have a profound, dramatic and sometimes life changing impact for the person injured and for all those close to him. In Ireland every year there are thousands of accidents most of which are caused as a result of the negligence of other parties. In the most serious of these accidents some of the injured parties may be left with permanent disabilities which may prevent them from participating in and leading a normal life again.
It is important therefore that if you are unfortunate enough to have suffered an injury which is due to the fault or negligence of a third party, that you take proper legal advice at an early stage from a solicitor who has the necessary expertise in dealing with your situation, in a thorough and professional manner. It is also equally important that you are appropriately compensated, and not enticed to settle your case too early with inadequate offers of compensation from Insurance companies who increasingly seek to do this.
There are two ways of seeking compensation.
- Through the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB)
- Through litigation under the court system
1. Motor Accidents or Car Accidents *
Have you been involved in a road traffic accident? If so you need to know the following essential information.
- Get the registration number of the other motor vehicle
- Get the insurance policy details number of the other driver from the disc on window screen and importantly the expiry date of the policy
- Get the full name and address of the driver and if different from the registered owner, the full name and address of the registered owner.
- Get the names and addresses of any witnesses to the accident including their telephone number as this may be very important at a later date if there is any issue on liability
- Report the matter to the local Gardai if the Gardai do not attend at the accident scene as this may equally be very important at a later date if the accident is denied or if the person who collided with you has no insurance.
- Do not admit liability to the other driver as it is generally a condition of your insurance policy
- Contact Stapleton and Co Solicitors as soon as possible. We will advise you in relation to all aspects of your claim.
2. Occupational Injury / Accidents at Work *
Every employer in Ireland has a legal duty of care to provide a safe place of work and a safe system of work for his employees, and he is also obliged by law to provide an employee with suitable training. If the employer fails in his duty to provide a safe system of work or suitable training which results in an accident causing injury you may be entitled to take a case against your employer for damages. In the event that you do suffer an accident at work you should be aware of the following matters.
3. Accidents in Public Places *
In general the right to bring such a claim arises when someone has an accident in a public place such as when someone trips and or falls on a pavement or a pot hole the maintenance for which falls and rests with the Local Authority. As citizens we all pay directly and indirectly by means of considerable taxes for the upkeep and maintenance of roads footpaths and other areas and in general when such an area is badly or poorly maintained or when works which are being carried out and are reinstated and left in bad condition which results in personal injury then a claim can be brought against the Local Authority for which in our experience it will accept it has a case to answer.
In the event that you do have an accident in a public place you should do the following
- Take a photograph of the exact place that you had the accident yourself or have someone else take it on your behalf and you should arrange to keep a negative of the photo.
- You should arrange to notify the Local Authority and preferably in writing. If for any reason this is not possible then you should arrange to phone make sure and get the name of the person to whom you reported the accident.
- If there are witnesses to your accident you should ask them for their name address and telephone numbers which may be required by your solicitor at a later date if the Local Authority deny that they are responsible for the accident or indeed contest the fact that you did have an accident.
5. Overseas Personal Injury service for Visitors to Ireland from UK, USA, Canada, Europe, Australia & Asia *
Our firm provides a personal injuries service for visitors to Ireland who have been involved in accidents during their stay here. We can deal with you directly, or we can act for you through your own lawyers at home. Over the years we have successfully dealt with many personal injury claims for overseas visitors to Ireland who through no fault of their own have been involved in accidents here, and have secured for them appropriate compensation for their injuries.
4. Holiday Accidents and Accidents abroad *
Since the Package Holiday and Travel Trade Act came into force it has been a lot easier to take this type of case. Essentially the right to bring such a case arises when you have an accident abroad if you have suffered an accident whilst on an organised package holiday you can successfully bring a claim against the company who organised your holiday, here usually the Tour Organiser, if you can show that they were negligent.
To properly advise you if you do have a case for injuries sustained from an accident abroad you should contact us for an assessment of your case now.
Very often people go abroad and have a very bad experience with the resort or accommodation which has been provided for them which very often results in them sustaining an injury of some description. Essentially Tour Organisers have a duty of care to the people who book holidays through them to ensure that the accommodation and complex is safe and indeed hygienic and to ensure that you are not exposed to any risk of injury disease or infection.
What you should do if you have an accident abroad
- Report the accident to your resort or hotel representative as soon as possible and get an acknowledgement from them of the fact that you have reported it to them.
- Seek medical attention from a local doctor and advise him of how the accident occurred.
- Get the names and addresses and telephone numbers of any witnesses to the accident.
- Importantly take photographs of the accident location.