How Can We Help you – Frequently Asked Questions

Once we you have instructed us to commence case proceedings, We, your Solicitor, write to you confirming the instructions and issue an originating letter of claim to the third party and / or their insurers. We then collect evidence to support your personal injury case. We handle your application to PIAB (Personal Injuries Assessment Board) and all case files.

Step by Step

1. We will write to you confirming the instructions and issue an originating letter of claim to the third party and / or their insurers
2. We will collect evidence to support your personal injury case and will keep you informed at every stage of your claim
3. We will correspond with the insurers outlining the legal basis of your claim and the nature of your injuries
4. We will ensure that your claim is presented fully and comprehensively so that you receive the best case outcome

7 Steps – What to do if involved in an accident

L-A-W-L-I-N-E

1. Look – what caused your accident?
2. Act – make sure to immediately report your accident to a person in authority
3. Witnesses – make sure to take the names and addresses of anybody at the scene
4. Lawyers – contact Lawline for advice without delay
5. Injured – make sure to attend your doctor or local hospital as soon as possible
6. Never – never admit liability
7. Enquire – now for a copy of our brochure or email us for an instant call back

If your solicitor is dealing with a contentious matter for you, the law requires that the following explanation be given to you.

Unless otherwise agreed, when your solicitor sends you a bill of costs, you are responsible for the payment of that bill. You remain responsible for this amount even where you reach a settlement with the defendant or any other third party and a term of that settlement is that you will be paid your costs. This is also the case where the defendant or other third party is ordered by a court to pay your costs. Your solicitor will seek to recover as much as possible of the charges from the defendant or other third party. When the monies are so recovered, if you have already paid your solicitor, the monies will be refunded to you, less any costs incurred in their recovery. Otherwise, they will be set off against the full amount due to your solicitor.

The amount which the defendant or other third party may agree or may be ordered to pay will not generally be sufficient to set off your solicitor’s entire charges. Insofar as the costs recovered from the other party are insufficient to discharge your liability to your solicitor, then you remain liable to make up the shortfall.

Even where your solicitor is satisfied that you have a good case, the law requires that it is explained to you that, in the event of the following circumstances arising, you may be liable to pay, in addition to your own costs, the costs of the Defendant or other third parties.

For the purpose of your claim we will request your doctor and / or the casualty consultant of any hospital you may have attended and any other medical practitioners, to prepare medical/legal reports on your injuries. Sometimes these medical practitioners may furnish reports based on the notes taken when they examined you previously, but very often they will write back to us giving us a date, time and venue for a medical examination.

We will of course notify you in writing of all medical appointments which we receive on your behalf. You should make a very careful note of all medical appointments and ensure that you are in prompt attendance. Failure to attend can give rise to a non attendance fee being charged by the doctor and possibly a lengthy delay for another appointment. If any appointment does not suit you, please telephone your solicitor’s Secretary as soon as possible to let us know, and we will rearrange the appointment. We would ask you please not to contact us to confirm that you will attend an appointment unless we specifically ask you to do so. Unless we hear from you to the contrary, we will assume that you will attend.

As part of the Claims Process, we must put your claim through PIAB and first we need to get a Medical Report. We obtain this medical report from your treating doctor outlining all injuries sustained by you as a result of your accident.  We will then send a copy of this report to you along with a Form A – an application form which must be signed by you in order for us to firstly process your claim with the Injuries Board.