Solicitors Galway, Molloy Seymour McLoughlin Solicitors Galway, PIAB Personal Injury Galway, Property Galway, Road Traffic Offences Galway, Wills Estates Galway, Litigation Galway, Professional Negligence Galway

25 What is the court process for my accident claim?
Almost all claims have first to be submitted to PIAB. If the PIAB process has not resolved the claim then the matter must be brought before the Court . The Court process means issuing a “writ,” namely a summons to the Defendant that, unless you are compensated properly, you are going to bring the matter before a Judge for assessment/hearing.
Once you commence a Court process, you are bound by the rules of the Court in terms of documentation/hearing dates and other procedures (you must go to PIAB in most cases first, i.e. you cannot leap- frog to Court).

26 What is the procedure in the circuit court and the high court for accident / compensation claims?

A considerable number of accident cases are brought within the Circuit and High Courts.

Procedure is commenced by way of a Personal Injury Summons . This document “Personal Injury Summons” will outline the details of the parties, allegations being made and general grounds being relied on together with a summary of injuries and summary of expenses claimed.

The Notice for Particulars is a booklet of questions which is raised by the Defendant seeking further details of the claim. These are replies to in the form of “Replies to Particulars” namely giving detailed information so that the Defendant can be in a position to fairly assess the claim. These documents are prepared by your solicitor in consultation with you.

This is the document which the Defendant then issues outlining his position as to whether he is defending the case fully or whether he is making certain admissions or concessions. This document will clarify the extent to which issues are in dispute.

After the above paperwork has been completed, the case can then be put into the Court list for hearing. This means that you will be waiting for the Court to assign a date for the hearing of the case. Typically, prior to this, settlement discussions (or, increasingly, Mediation) will take place with a view to settling the claim provided, of course, your claim is sufficiently cogent and strong so as to put pressure on the Defendant to settle. The length of time it takes for a case to be heard depends on the circumstances, for example whether there is a backlog of cases in that court district or whether there are extra judges sitting, etc.

If the case is not settled then it will be scheduled for hearing. Prior to this date, detailed preparations will be made for the hearing. Your solicitor will advise you as to what witnesses are necessary, whether you need to bring doctors (in the Circuit Court, doctors’ reports are admitted so that doctors do not have to attend whereas doctors are usually required to be in attendance at the High Court hearings). Generally, the Circuit Court hearings are shorter and less professional witnesses required.

If your case is not settled and it goes for hearing, the following is a general outline of what occurs.

You will normally be the first witness to give evidence. This means that you will be asked to go into the witness box and outline your case. Typically, this means that you will “give your story” of what happened i.e. that you were driving your car and that the Defendant emerged into your path and crashed into you, etc. Typically, these questions will be asked by your own barrister (barristers engaged in Circuit Court and High Court claims).
The barrister will ask you the questions so as to prompt you to outline the relevant details. As stated previously, these details should be clear in your mind if you have written a diary and, indeed, your diary can be brought by you to the witness box if you have prepared the entries contemporaneously with the events occurring i.e. that you have kept an up-to-date diary. This can be of considerable benefit to you as it can be difficult to remember events which occurred possibly 2/3 years previously.

After you have given your evidence with the assistance of your own barrister, the Defendant’s barrister will usually cross-examine you as regards the details. It is the Defendant’s barrister’s job to elicit information which would be of benefit to the Defendant although he is obliged to do this in a fair way and subject to certain rules. You should not be too worried about this process as, once you have your facts clear in your mind and tell the full truth, difficulties will not generally arise. The deciding factor in these cases is honesty and the Judge will be listening to ensure that your story is consistent and that you are not misleading the Court.

After you have given your evidence, then other witnesses will be asked to give evidence. If liability is in dispute (i.e. if there is an argument about who is at fault) typically your engineer will give evidence at a very early stage and produce maps of the scene of the accident, photographs and other relevant data so that the Judge can form a view as to what occurred. In like manner, as you give your evidence, the engineer will be examined and cross-examined.

Other witnesses will then be asked to give evidence. If liability is in dispute, there may be a witness who observed the accident and this person would give evidence as regards what he or she saw and be subject to examination/cross-examination in the same way.
(ii) Medical Evidence in accident cases

Doctor’s evidence will then be given (as stated above, in the Circuit Court, frequently doctors’ reports are agreed so that doctors do not have to attend Court). In the High Court, doctors and specialists (frequently Orthopedic Surgeons in accident cases will give evidence and they are likewise subject to examination/cross-examination). If you are suffering considerable pain, a Pain Specialist can give evidence or produce reports.

(iii) Other Professional Witnesses
Other professional witnesses may be called (or their reports agreed and produced to the Judge such as Rehabilitation Consultants, Vocational Assessors who give evidence as regards person’s ability to work in a particular job in the future and what effect certain injuries might have on the ability to obtain work and be employable. Actuaries can give evidence as regards future income in complicated cases in terms of working out calculation.

(iv) Defendant’s Witnesses
After you and your witnesses have given evidence, the Defendant will then give evidence. Accordingly, the driver of the other car might outline how he or she was driving his or her car when you allegedly swung over and crashed into him or her. This person is examined and cross-examined by your barrister. The Defendant might also have witnesses as to the facts (e.g. a person who observed what occurred might give evidence). In the same way, the Defendant might have witnesses, such as an engineer. In other words, they will have their own engineer who will give evidence as regards what the engineer thinks. Likewise, Defendants (usually Insurance Companies) present their own doctors reports or doctors give evidence as stated below, (Doctors appear in High Court rather than Circuit Court usually).

(v) Decision of Judge in Accident Cases
After hearing all of the above, the Judge might ask various questions so as to clarify issues. After that, Judge will give Judgement as regards who is deemed liable for the accident. Sometimes, Liability can be apportioned so that you might be liable for 20% of the case and the other Party 80% .

After the Judge has given his decision, typically this will be the end of the matter although it is possible in the Circuit Court to Appeal Decisions to the High Court.

28 Do i need a rehabilitation consultant/vocation assessor as a witness in my accident case?
These professionals are experts in assessing the claimant’s employment losses. As indicated above, they will analyse the likely effects of an injury on a person’s ability to work in a particular job. A Rehabilitation Consultant/Vocational Assessor’s Report will take into account a person’s education, training, age and other such factors in carrying out the said work. Account will be taken of the availability of jobs in that economic market.
The Assessor will then recommend/advise as to alternative suitable Careers open to the claimant. For example, if a person receives a severe injury to his/her fingers, he/she might be no longer able to work on an assembly line. In this case, an Assessor will examine whether such a person should be retained for alternative work, taking into account the availability of such work, likely income and person’s general abilities.

29 Do i need an actuary for my accident case?
Actuaries are experts qualified in the area of mathematical calculations. Actuaries will work out and measure figures in relation to the calculation of losses, in particular loss of income into the future. For example, if a person receives a severe injury at the age of 40, resulting in that person having to give up work for the rest of that person’s working life, the actuary will calculate the loss involved.
Such calculations will take into the account the pre-accident income of that person, the person’s age and likely remaining working life, likely investment potential of a lump sum, general state of the economic market in terms of jobs, and other such relevant facts. Likewise, if a person is forced to abandon overtime, or take less income in an alternative occupation, the reduction in income can be calculated and Actuaries do this work. Actuaries prepare reports and, if necessary, appear in Court to present the figure to Judges.

In general, Actuaries are only briefed in very serious cases where there is a significant loss of income in to the future.

30 Can the report of a pain specialist assist my accident case?
Pain Specialists are doctors/consultants who specialist in the area of pain management. Among other work, Pain Specialists assist chronic pain sufferers to learn to live with their pain ,as well as advise on medication and pain relief. The Pain Specialists are normally only engaged in cases of chronic pain, i.e. where pain is severe and likely to continue into the future.

Reports from Pain Specialists can be of assistance in imparting to the Judge or PIAB the severity of pain and in advising to Judge the prognosis as regards likely continuation of pain and management thereof.

31 Do i need an engineer in my accident case?
Consulting Engineers are briefed in cases where liability is in issue. Engineers are employed to give technical advise and analysis in relation to (typically) how an accident occurred and the likely causes thereof.

Depending on the nature of the cause of the accident, different Engineers with different specialities will be briefed. For example, if the accident is a road traffic accident, maps of the road might need to be produced, giving measurements of the road, photographs of skid marks, post-accident positions of cars, position of boundary wall/ditches/roundabouts, road signs and other surrounding physical circumstances. Typically, Engineer will prepare a report of the accident location and photographs so that the Judge can obtain a picture of the physical context of the accident.

If accident occurs at work (for example repetitive strain injury) engineering evidence will differ from road traffic accident. In these employment cases, the machinery and work station will be examined and be relevant. In these cases, Engineer will analyse the said work station, tools and machinery and explain to the Judge the technical working thereof, so that Judge can come to a conclusion as to the likely cause of the accident and whether same was preventable. If one can show that the accident was preventable by the Employer taking reasonable care, then one will succeed in ones action. The Engineer provides the technical data needed for a Judge to come to a conclusion on this issue.

32 What if the accident has caused depression or other psychological problems?
Frequently, Psychological/Psychiatric injury is caused by an accident. For
example, a person might become depressed as a result of the pain being suffered. This depression may adversely affect a person’s ability to work, resulting in loss of income and interference with a person’s lifestyle. Initially, a person will usually receive treatment from G.P. and possibly be referred to a Psychologist/Psychiatrist. These Specialists frequently prepare reports for solicitors so that compensation can be claimed for the said psychological depression or other psychological injury. The Psychologist/Psychiatrist will explain and analyse the psychological injury and will offer prognosis as to whether the debilitating condition is likely to abate or continue. Judges
award compensation for psychological injury, typically where there is both physical and psychological injuries caused by the accident.