Personal injury claim, contributory negligence

I was involved in a motor accident and i have had an initial no obligation meeting with a solicitor. He said I have a case but the insurer may claim contributory negligence on my part. If the insurance company do claim contributory negligence does it mean i have to go straight to court or can it still be solved via the injuries board? Would it make sense to bypass the solicitor first, lodge a claim with the injury board and if the insurance company claim contributory negligence go to a solicitor then?
Are insurance companies aware of whether the injured party is using a solicitor? I'd expect that the insurance company would be more likely to play hardball if dealing with the injured party directly as opposed to a solicitor. Would that be the case?
The injuries board told me i need to go to the driver directly as opposed to going to the insurance company. That seams strange to me, is that right? I was on a bicycle as opposed to driving a car. I'd find it much more stressful going to an individual as opposed to going to an insurance company.
If i do go to court and lose i'll be stuck with large legal and medical bills. Is this a regular occurance? Obviously it would be a complete disaster, it seams like a big risk to take to go to court.
Thanks for your help.

1 - Iinjuries board will only deal with case if it a 'Assessment' that is, that the person you are taking the case against is 100% responsible. Mind you, the insurers will weigh the case up though. If they feel that contributory negligence in 10/20% they may consent to IB assessing the case.

2 - If the insurer reckons that there is a larger contributory negligence issue, then they will not consent to IB assessing the case and you are into the legal circus immediately. That does not mean that you must go to court as most cases are settled by insurers outside of court, at an early stage if that can be done to both parties satisfaction.

3 - you can certainly lodge the IB application yourself and see the reaction of insurer. Insurer will be aware that you are/are not using a solicitor as the name of the solicitor will be on the letter insurance company get from IB.

4 - Not all insurers play' hardball' if you do not use a solicitor. Under the Consumer Protection Code, the insurer must be 'fair'. If a complaint is made that they were not 'fair' then Central Bank will be on their case and insurers do not like that!

5 - Your claim is against the other driver, NOT his insurer. What did his insurer do wrong? It is his driving/use of car that you are blaming. The insurer indemnifies him, but IB are correct, the claim is made against the driver.

6 - If you do go to a court hearing and if you do lose, then you are at risk of paying all the costs, both of your own legal team and the drivers legal team.