When I am advising clients in relation to personal injuries claims sometimes they ask me about whether or not they have to go to Court and they say they are concerned about having to go to Court.

Now if you are worried about going to Court and wondering do you have to go to Court then the short answer is no, you don’t automatically have to go. In fact in the first instance most personal injuries claims are brought through the Injuries Board and the benefit of this is that it is a non-adversarial procedure meaning that it is a paper based approach and you don’t have to appear before any Court or tribunal.

Now the Injuries Board doesn’t work for everyone and sometimes an assessment is made that you are not happy with and in those circumstance if you wish to progress your claim you will have to issue court proceedings but it is important to remember that this doesn’t automatically mean that you will end up in Court, in fact, figures from the Central Bank in 2011 suggest that only 2% of claims that settled had to go through a Court hearing the rest settled beforehand. If you do have concerns about appearing in court then you should consult with your solicitor to make a fully informed decision.

If you have any questions in relation to this matter or any other matter feel free to give us a call at 1800 390 555.