Claims Ireland

Compensation Claim Valuation

This is one of the most common questions asked by clients of their solicitors in relation to personal injury claims.

The short answer is that in the early stage of the preparation of your personal injury litigation case there is absolutely no way of knowing the answer to this question.

It is important to remember that (assuming liability is not in question) the ‘value’ of a personal injury case is assessed by looking at the severity of the injury to the plaintiff and how same will affect their working, family, recreational and personal lives in the short, medium and long terms.

Some injuries may take a number of months or even years to manifest themselves. A scarring injury, for example, may take a considerable amount of time to settle.

It is worth remembering therefore that your solicitor is not a medical professional; he or she is not qualified to, and therefore will not, offer a diagnosis of your injury or a prognosis for the recovery period from same.

The role of your solicitor is to ensure that the settlement figure or award accurately reflects the personal loss, injury and damage that you have sustained as a result of your accident. In order to do so, he or she will take the greatest care to construct the strongest possible case on your behalf.