Pedestrian crossing road hit by car driven by 78yo: claim for cancelled holiday? etc?

I

idonno-1

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Myself and my 3 yr old child were crossing the road and got hit by a car that failed to slow down or stop until it got down the road a bit.

The 78 year old driver didn't know he hit us, he was hardly able to walk with a walking stick.

I got thrown on the bonnet and cracked the windscreen with my head and fell to the ground, I have road rash on my back, and I am suffering with lower back pain and whiplash. My child has minor cuts to the face and was in shock.

The Guards were called, we were taken to hospital in ambulance and got xrayed and let out.

We have a holiday booked and are supposed to head off in 2 days time but I doubt I will be able to go.

Am I entitled to claim, will I get any compensation for the holiday, I will need time off work also.
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

If someone is genuinely affected so that they cannot continue as normal - either short of long therm (& it sounds like you are), then you are best to take it up with your solicitor. Leave him deal with it & he will ensure your interests are taken care of.

ninsaga
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

Was this at a pedestrian crossing / traffic lights ?
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

No, we weren't at a pedestrian crossing or traffic lights
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

Shouldn't make a difference whether it was a pedestrian crossing or traffic lights. According to the rules of the road you should yield or give right of way to pedestrians and be aware of other road users including pedestrians and anticipate their actions etc, etc.

Now is the time for you to decide whether you want to go via the PIAB or your solicitor. Regardless, keep all your receipts, any Garda reports and get a doctor's cert for the purposes of claiming on your holiday insurance.

Sit down and write down your version of events so that you have a fresh account of what happened also.

I hope you recover quickly, sounds like a nasty accident. Thank goodness you weren't hurt any worse.
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

About once every quarter, I encounter a driver breaking the pedestrian lights near my house while bringing my 3-year-old to the shop. I've started reporting them to the Gardai in the hope that this will encourage greater attention to their driving.

Hope you and your little one are OK.
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

Hope you and the small one will be fine.

Your holiday insurance should cover the cost (less the excess which applies to your policy) of the cancelled h
holiday. Contact your insurance company for information on what they need to process the claim.

Edit: Sorry, just saw that mo3art had already mentioned holiday insurance claim!
 
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Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

If you didn't want the hassle of dealing with a solicitor/PIAB, you could approach the drivers insurance company yourself. No harm in hearing what they have to say before laying out money on a brief. Although any claim for PI for your child would have to be sorted out in court and stay in trust until they're 18.
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

mo3art said:
, etc.

Now is the time for you to decide whether you want to go via the PIAB or your solicitor.
Click to expand...

AFAIK you can only go to the PIAB except where medical negligence is at issue. You should be told that by the Solicitor.
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

pat127 said:
AFAIK you can only go to the PIAB except where medical negligence is at issue. You should be told that by the Solicitor.
Click to expand...
Incorrect - The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) assesses the amount of compensation due to a person who has suffered a personal injury
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

loughquinn said:
Incorrect - The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) assesses the amount of compensation due to a person who has suffered a personal injury
Click to expand...


I apologise if I gave the impression that the PIAB handled holiday cancellatioin claims. That wasn't my intention. I had picked up on:-

"lower back pain and whiplash" and supposed that was also being asked about.
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

Hello

Very sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you make a full recovery soon.

My advice is to take things slowly. Write everything down, follow your doctor's instructions, keep any receipts from expenses. Careful not to make your back worse by being on the pc... things tend to be worse a few days after an accident so look after yourself.

After a bad accident last year the other party's insurance company were trying to settle with me almost immediately. Like yourself, at the time I didn't know what to do. Many also said that PIAB would take care of everything - this may be the case for small uncomplicated claims but if there is any serious fallout you could do with a solicitor. My own experience has been that having a good solicitor has taken the worry and pressure off me. There has been so much form filling, doctors visits, reports etc.. that it could have been very stressful. Also - if you find your expenses running above €10,000 you will be glad to have the security of good representation.

An earlier post advised talking to the other party's insurance company - I would totally advise against this. I found them to be pushy and dishonest at a time of real vulnerability. It might be best to speak to them via a solicitor if necessary. I would be seriously out of pocket now if I had settled as the insurance company wanted at the time.

The important thing to remember is that you do not need to do too much now. Hopefully you will be well very quickly and you might just need to reclaim holiday costs and immediate expenses. I would start record keeping today and in a couple of months you could go to PIAB or engage a solicitor as needed.

Best of luck and get well soon.
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

I dont know what the statistics are for PIAB, but two people I know pursued their cases through them, and in both cases PIAB sat on them for about 16 months and then gave a release letter to go to Court.
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

As far as I know, the PIAB is only really an option if the driver doesn't contest liability. If the driver (or his insurance) does contest liability, or tries to apportion some of the blame to you, it may become a contested case and the courts are where you need to go to sort it out.

If I were you, I'd find out if the guy is accepting responsibility. If he is, all that there is left to do is to decide on the level of compensation, which the PIAB will do. If he isn't accepting responsibility, go to a solicitor.
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

The reasons for having a solicitor deal with a PIAB claim which are several, vastly outweigh the only reason not to, i.e. that it will cost you. [should be a professional fee of around €1,000.]
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

Stifster said:
The reasons for having a solicitor deal with a PIAB claim which are several, vastly outweigh the only reason not to, i.e. that it will cost you. [should be a professional fee of around €1,000.]
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The whole idea of the PIAB was to remove the need for a solicitor. What are your reasons for hiring one?
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

I know it's an old thread, but I registered just to reply to this question.

...My thoughts exactly, that's why PIAB was created, so the solicitors wouldn't be involved to push the costs skywards.
 
Re: Hit by car - Pedestrian

Stifster said:
The reasons for having a solicitor deal with a PIAB claim which are several, vastly outweigh the only reason not to, i.e. that it will cost you. [should be a professional fee of around €1,000.]
Click to expand...

COuld you expand on that.
 
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