Generally speaking, every individual’s claim for damages for personal injuries is different and how much you are entitled to is very much a question of the circumstances of your case.  How much you get depends on a variety of factors and of course liability has to be established against the person or persons who caused or are responsible for your accident or have agreed to settle your case.

Subject to the law of prescription, that is to say how long you have until you have run out of time to pursue your claim, I advise my clients, particularly in cases involving more serious injuries, not to rush to settle their claims as waiting to settle can result in greater damages.   Your injuries may take some time to heal. You may need to have surgery. Your prognosis has to be ascertained.  Injuries sometimes do not fully resolve and can take a long time to heal. There may be some residual effects.  Good solid medical evidence from appropriate experts may have to be obtained and sometimes need to be updated and if, for example, there is wage loss as a result of the accident an expert report may also have to be obtained from an employment expert. Past and future wage loss can make up a substantial element of your claim.  There are varying degrees of severity of injuries.  In assessing how much you are likely to get for your pain and suffering regard will be had to awards in decided court cases involving the same or similar injuries.

There may be other elements to your claim apart from damages for your pain and suffering such as interest on your damages.  You may have needed help after your accident from family/friends and continue to do so and that too may be one of the heads of claim.  This is called a claim for services.  You may need ongoing care in the future and  your claim may also include a claim for care costs which itself may be valuable.  It may be possible to claim interim damages and provisional damages.  Some clients can suffer psychological injury rather than or as well as physical injury and reports may have to be obtained, for example from a psychologist in addition to the appropriate medical expert such as an orthopaedic surgeon or other specialist.

Your claim may be worth a lot more than you might imagine.

Many of the personal injury cases we have handled have been complex.

We are sometimes told by clients that they have no supporting witnesses.  Fortunately, unlike criminal cases, as a general rule corroboration may not be necessary in civil cases so that the client’s evidence alone, if the court accepts it as credible and reliable, may be sufficient.

Where appropriate, we will take steps to recover relevant documentation to help win your case, if necessary by obtaining a court order.

Clients have sometimes come to us over the years from other legal firms where their previous solicitors have advised that they had poor or no prospects of success. We have dealt with difficult and unpromising cases which other solicitors have declined to take on. In many of these cases, we have gone on to be successful and, indeed, secured substantial damages for the client. In one case involving an accident at work, the previous agents advised the client that he had little or no prospect of success. We managed to secure a six figure settlement for the client. We have also acted in cases which were approaching time bar and we have managed to serve proceedings as a matter of special urgency to avoid time bar. In one case, by way of illustration, a client in her 20s came to us with the triennium fast approaching whose previous solicitor advised her that she had little or no prospect of success. She had suffered catastrophic leg and internal injuries when she was struck at speed by a car. She required to have a leg amputated. We went on to secure a substantial settlement for her.

Even if your claim appears to be time barred it may be possible to pursue it through court in certain circumstances which we are happy to consider for you.

We have also acted in cases involving other catastrophic injuries including brain damage.