Special Damages in Personal Injury Claims

Since reading your website I can understand what special damages in personal injuries claims are. However, there seems to be hardly any space on the Injury Board application form to write the details. Do you have any advice?

You will find it more convenient to complete your application online if you are claiming a significant amount of special damages in personal injury claims. If you have lost income or have acquired expenses which are linked to the injury for which you are claiming, the special damages sections of the online application will allow you to recover them.

The online application to the Injuries Board (“Special Damages”) contains two specific sections that will allow you to explain what you are claiming. You can state the amount you are claiming for loss of wages in Part 8 and you can expand and explain any medical costs in Part 9 (“Medical and Other Expenses”) which has text boxes in which you can write thousands of characters – compared with the small space on the paper format of the Application Form A.

The online application for special damages claims allows for an unlimited amount of space to give details of the special damages you wish to claim for. Another benefit of completing your special damages application claim online is that it is possible to upload any supporting documents. Therefore, you can keep your original receipts in your possession rather than posting them with the application form to Cork.

Your online special damages claim is processed on the Injuries Board Ireland secure server and, when you submit your application, you will be assigned a unique user number and password. With the assumption that you have access to a private computer, you would be able to go back into your online application form for special damages and change it if needs be. You would also be able to track the development of your claim for injury compensation.

If you have sustained an injury in an accident for which you were not at fault, and if your injury results in an inability to work for a considerable length of time or if your home needs redevelopment to allow wheelchair access, special damages would probably from a considerable part of your personal injury compensation claim. To make sure that each item of special damages in personal injury claims is properly accounted for, it is important that you have your application reviewed by an expert solicitor.

It would be in your best interests to review your personal situation and the circumstances of your personal injury with a legal professional. Even if it is difficult for you to visit a solicitor personally, you always have the option of discussing your claim for personal injury compensation over the telephone. The solicitor can make sure that everything on your application form to the Injuries Board is complete with no omissions which may negatively affect the outcome of your special damages claim.