Case Study

Case Summary

Incident

Nicole was driving around her housing estate when she noticed a van parked at a junction on a hill ahead. The van driver felt his van rolling forward. He meant to hit the brakes but instead hit the accelerator. This caused the van to crash into Nicole’s car from the rear passenger side.

Following the accident, Nicole felt the indents of her teeth on the inner part of her lips. She had a cut in her mouth and her car was immediately written off at the scene, as it was unsafe to be driven on the road.

Within twenty-four hours of the accident, she began to feel numbness and discomfort in her mouth, she felt pains in her neck, shoulder, and upper back. She also noticed that one tooth was progressively getting looser.

After two days she had a telephone consultation with her GP and after three days she attended her dentist. Her dentist informed her that her tooth was at serious risk of coming out and began to make a partial denture to replace the loose tooth.

Upon her initial visit to the GP, she was diagnosed with a soft tissue injury and a whiplash associated disorder. She was sent to A&E where she received an x-ray of her cervical spine and left shoulder. The results showed no fractures.

In total, Nicole had one GP visit, two A&E visits and five dentist visits.

In the months after the accident, Nicole continued to suffer with occasional pain, tenderness, and restriction of movement. This causes her serious issues as she has a small child to take care off.

The defendant showed negligence in his ability to stop, slow down, keep any proper lookout or swerve to maintain a safe road environment. Nicole sustained severe personal injuries, loss, damage, inconveniences, and expenses as a result of the accident. Every road user bears the responsibility of ensuring the well-being of other road users. The defendant failed to do so in this case,

Case progression:

The Injuries Resolution Board assessed the injury at €7,441.82. Solicitor Elaine Hickey reviewed the Injuries Resolution Board assessment and felt that it did not properly compensate the client for the injuries incurred. Elaine instead instigated Court proceedings, and the case was brought to a successful conclusion.

Case settlement:

The case was settled on the 28^th of October 2022 for the sum of €31,891. This was a great result for our client. We are proud of all the work put in by Elaine and her team to achieve this outcome.

*Note: Client name changed for GDPR reasons.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I make a car accident claim?

   Following a car crash or other road traffic accident, your first port of call is to check to see if you, any passengers and anybody else involved in the accident need medical attention and to call an ambulance, where necessary, to ensure that medical attention is gotten as soon as possible.

   It is important that, if you have suffered a personal injury that you book an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible after the road traffic accident, even if you are involved in a minor road traffic accident, regardless of how minor you think the injuries are, in some cases these minor injuries can develop into a more serious threat to your health. In worst case scenarios, fatal road accidents can occurr.

2. How to calculate the value of my claim?

   The Injuries Board Book of Quantum provides us with general guidelines as to how much compensation may be awarded in a personal injury claim and is used by the Injuries Board when they are assessing a personal injury claim. This book was compiled by examining sample cases from over 51,000 closed personal injury cases from 2013 and 2014 and is based on actual court figures. It shows us what personal injury compensation amounts were awarded in the past and help give an estimate as to how much compensation could be awarded based on a person’s specific injuries.