Client injured in road traffic accident in Republic of Ireland settles claim for £16,000
Neil McGranaghan was instructed to act on behalf of Mr S in relation to his injury claim arising from a road traffic accident. Our client instructed that he was the driver of a vehicle that was hit from behind on Pearse Street, Dublin.
The Gardai attended the scene and all details were exchanged. The other driver admitted liability at the scene.
Upon his return to Northern Ireland Mr Shaw contacted our office for advice. He did not want his insurance to be affected by this accident as it was not his fault. Thankfully he had insurance details of the other vehicle and we contacted the other driver’s insurance company. They agreed to assess our client’s vehicle and to provide him with a hire vehicle. This meant that he did not have to claim through his own insurance. His vehicle was assessed and declared a total loss or “write off”. He received a cheque in respect of the pre accident value of the vehicle and was able to keep the hire vehicle until he received the cheque.
In respect of the injury claim, the insurance company argued that Neil could not deal with the case given that the accident occurred in the South and once that point had been conceded by the insurer they then argued that our client was not entitled to have his legal costs paid on top of his damages. Neil has previously acted in similar cases and referred the insurer to the provisions of Rome II EC Regulation.
Under Rome II our client is entitled to be represented by a Solicitor in Northern Ireland even though the accident occurred in the Republic of Ireland. The case can be brought in our Courts here in Northern Ireland however our client is entitled to claim damages based on appropriate damages in the EU Country that the accident occurred. This was of great benefit in this case as damages in the Republic of Ireland greatly exceed those here in Northern Ireland.
The insurer did not concede this point and on that basis we issued Court proceedings on behalf of our client. The insurance company based in Dublin passed their file to a Solicitor based in Belfast to defend the claim. It became apparent at an early stage that Neil’s arguments in respect of jurisdiction and costs were correct. After the usual exchange of information and documentation that ensues once Court proceedings are issued, the case resolved in the sum of £16,000 plus our client’s legal costs.
Following the successful conclusion of his claim our client commented as follows;
“I am very happy with the settlement and extremely please with how this case was handled. Neil did a great job”
If you have been involved in a road traffic accident in the Republic of Ireland or indeed in another EU Country please contact us on 02891817715, or by email claims@boydricesolicitors.com and let us explain how we can help you.
These are extremely complex cases and early advice is recommended.
