Road Traffic Accident & Insurance Claims

Hi All,
My wife met an accident yesterday, she's was in A&E over night n outa hospital now. Her car was hit from behind while she was driving. We have never been through this eva. What is sequence of events which should take place, can anybody guide us please?

Things i have done :
a) spoke to garda who was present at the scene and got all the details(but he hasnt logged incident yet since all parties involved havnt contact him)
b) spoke to her insurance company gave them all the details
c) Garda friend of mine told me to get solicitor involved as well. Spoke to her too.
d) spoke to towing company which took away the car

Questions i have is :
a) Was sequence of events right or i missed something?
b) involving solicitor is it the right thing to do ?
c) What next steps shall we take?

Any input be of great help.
Kind Regards
Rav

Hi Rav,

Id use your insurers as the main point of contact, (this service afterall is included when you pay your premium) and if you want to keep your solicitor up to date.
If your wife was hit from behind and the 3rd party was insured then the 3rd party's insurers with accept liability (95%) of the time.
Keep note of any additional costs e.g chiropractor e.t.c and inform your insurers of same.

Thanks Brian,
Its just that never been through all this and sudden rush of information got us all shocked.
Any further input to this one be more than welcome.
Kind Regards
Rav

ravinder79 said:

Thanks Brian,
Its just that never been through all this and sudden rush of information got us all shocked.
Any further input to this one be more than welcome.
Kind Regards
Rav

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It can be stressful!. I don't see how the other party can dispute if they hit her from behind, it should be pretty stright forward in getting settled. The insurance should be the main contact point, keep the brief on the back burner. Good she was'nt badly hurt, lucky too!. What did the other party say after it happened?

Hi,
Well wife is complaining about pains all over her body sadly.. so first thing first getting her checked throughly...
But aparently the person who hit her from back is also in hospital And havnt given her statement to her insurance company yet.

Any how i think looking at all this, to be on legal right side.. i think will keep me solicitor in loop as well.

any more input from anyone be more than welcome
Kind Regards
Rav

Having been rear ended myself...your wife should probably get physio done on her back & neck as soon as practical.

Check with the doctor prior to discharge, to ensure that there are no complications or reason why she shouldn't have physio. Early intervention can head off a lot of problems down the road.

The physio will form part of your wife's claim and it's not unreasonable to include it.

Sounds like a future PIAB case.

Make sure to quantify all your loses in a claim - cost of car repair/replacement, loss of income, medical bills - in addition to the "book of quantum" conpensation for the actual injury.

Involving a solicitor at this early stage is probably a bad idea, use the insurance company/PIAB (in the future) if at all possible.

This should speed up the process and indemnify you fairly.

GA001 said:

Involving a solicitor at this early stage is probably a bad idea, use the insurance company/PIAB (in the future) if at all possible.

This should speed up the process and indemnify you fairly.

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I disagree.

Involving a solicitor does not preclude you from working through insurance companies / PIAB, and does ensure that you have a professional expert advising you. This is very valuable in making sure that you address all relevant issues in dealing with insurance co or PIAB - and can help maintain momentum in the process.

OP: Be prepared for some aspects of this to be long-drawn out. It may take some time to assess how serious your wife's injuries are, and no-one's likely to assess the medical aspects of any claim until that is at least reasonably clear.

The issue to be aware of in retaining a solicitor is that PIAB will not make an award for the professional costs of the solicitor in making their assessment. They'll include amounts for medical assessment, reports on the car, etc., but not solicitor fees. As such, if you choose to involve your solicitor, be sure you know the basis on which they charge, and have some idea of the impact that will have on the award.

I hope your wife recovers soon and fully.