In a car accident

A

andrea

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Got hit from behind by another car at the weekend, I ended up in the hospital overnight, nothing broken thank god and released next day but Im currently off work with bad back and neck pains, Doc says that'll wear off after a few days. Not to go into details of it here but was wondering what I do next from a legal standpoint. I was brought to hospital in ambulance and didnt get other drivers details but I hope the guards did as they were on the scene.
Do I contact my insurance company or get on to a solicitor to get on to the other drivers company?
I dont have a solicitor but Ive been advised to get one. I really dont know anyone whos been in a accident before so is there any recommendations in dublin? Im loathe to open the yellow pages and ring one of those ads that says "have you had an accident"?
Anything else I should do?
Thanks for any advice.
 
Insurance company and solicitor. The solicitor will advise you what to do next. While its your first and hopefully your last accident, solicitors deal with such issues 5 days a week. Is there a solicitor who you have dealt with before for house purchase for example? Perhaps one of your family or friends can recommend a name. If your not originally from Dublin, ask your family down the country to ask their solicitor to recommend one in Dublin. If all else fails ....the Golden Pages! Hope that this helps and take care of yourself. Being rear-ended sometimes comes back to haunt you with back pain and your solicitor will need to be sure that you are okay so he may refer you on to a doctor for an assessment.
 
you can and in fact must use PIAB. Under the new procedures, the cost of legal advice is borne by YOU and not by the insurer. Have a look at their website, complete the forms, get a medical report and send it on in the next few months. You have two years to make the formal claim.
 
Just to point out that while such claims start through PIAB, you are entitled to have your solicitor make the claim through PIAB for you and statistically, so far, it appears that claimants who use a solicitor achieve higher awards than those who do not.
 
Hi Vanilla - Are these statistics available to the general public?
 
Being rear-ended sometimes comes back to haunt you with back pain.
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This is so true - you might fell fine now and in the coming months but it could be a different story in a years time. It happened to me and now i have to pay a fortune on physio and painkillers.
 
I got on to a solicitor and the PIAB. Yes you have to go through the PIAB but you can get a solicitor to do it for you (for a fee obviously). PIAB said I had 2 years to make the claim. Basically, I send in the claim as the claimant, and they contact the respondent. If the respondent disagrees with anything Ive put on the claim, it can go to court and take any mount of years after that.
After talking with solicitor she said all she does is helps me with filling out the PIAB form, Im not sure what else the solicitor can do unless theres an "optimal" way of filling out the form.
Anyne know what I do about the damage to the car? Do I have to contact my own insurance company or the other insurance company after I get the details (still waiting on those from the guards), even if Im only claiming from the other guys do I still have to let my own company know?
thanks.
 
Hi Vanilla - Are these statistics available to the general public?
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I'm not aware of that. I read about it some months ago in the Law Society Gazette. Unfortunately I can't remember the details. If I come across it again I will post more details, or perhaps one of my colleagues might.
 
If memory serves me correctly, these statistics/claims have indeed been mentioned in the national media in the past. I certainly have head them previously and I don't read any technical journals from the Law Society or any other such legal bodies. Before you ask, I have no idea of where I heard/read of these statistics/claims, nor any notion of their validity or otherwise.
 
Originally posted by Andrea
Some insurance companies 'fast-track' claims by having external staff who visit you to settle your property damage and personal injury. The majority of insurance companies will sort out your car damage with few hassles (and give you a hire-car for the interim).

Quinn will also settle PI if you want them to - going the PIAB route takes approx 9 months and can be a bit clinical. Admittedly you would probably get a larger settlement but with Quinn, after figures are agreed you get yr chq in 5 days and allowances are made for future treatments, GP visits, hospital appts, physio etc. If you decide to go with yr brief and PIAB, you have to pay for medicals etc. yourself - you claim them back as expenses. along with loss of earnings at the end - once your settlement for pain and suffering is agreed.

The gardai should have no problem giving you comprehensive details of the other driver involved - although you may need to go to the Garda station to get them.

You should inform your insurance company - they might do a lot of the leg-work for you.
 
The Law Society Gazette is freely available, and searchable, online [broken link removed]. (Scroll down if you just want to browse issues rather than search.)
 
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