Summons

sharpsilver

Hi all,new here and i hav looked around so i hope i am in correct section.
My question is that after a car crash over 10 months ago is it it normal to get a court summons?Full comp insurance and was told it will all be taken care of by gardai and insurance company but now this mention of a summons.Any info/advice greatly appreciated or links to help on this.
Thank you.

PS Cant afford a solicitor as out of work so dont know where to get proper advice.

Thoie

sharpsilver wrote: »

Hi all,new here and i hav looked around so i hope i am in correct section.
My question is that after a car crash over 10 months ago is it it normal to get a court summons?Full comp insurance and was told it will all be taken care of by gardai and insurance company but now this mention of a summons.Any info/advice greatly appreciated or links to help on this.
Thank you.

PS Cant afford a solicitor as out of work so dont know where to get proper advice.

I'm not in the legal industry, so this isn't "advice". Your insurance takes care of any civil claim. It's possible you're being summonsed for a "criminal" charge of something along the lines of careless driving (it should say what the charge is on the summons I think).

Best bet is to pop into the garda station local to where the crash was and ask nicely if they can give you some info about what the summons is for.

sharpsilver

any ideas what can happen if it is careless driving?i was stopped to access an estate crossed about a foot over line and got hit by oncoming car.i was never told if i was at fault,the other driver at fault or a 50/50.

Reloc8

Careless driving generally leads to fine and penalty points if convicted and there are no previous convictions. There is also a possibility of disqualification.

Thoie

Your local citizen's advice center might be able to tell you more about court proceedings - where to go and what to do.

sharpsilver

I was told over the phone that i had a summons and that the gardai would drop it to me.nothing yet would i be better off going in for it?

SNAKEDOC

have you recieved a summons by hand or mail yet? if so the charge is writen on it so look closely and find out what it is. if you have not recieved said summons don't worry about doing the job of the summons server. if it is not served it is returned to sender and the case could be dismissed. sit tight. make no phone calls to gardai asking or dropping in to the station. a summons must be delivered in an expedious fashion so ten months is a long time i know but in legal terms not very. you may still get it. try and remember the day of the accident did you have all documents and licence the summons could be for something as ridiculous as not producing your licence as all peopleinvolved i rta's are asked to produce their licence within ten days to validate their licence. its sop. standard procedure. if you didn't a summons is issued as infrences can be taken that you have no licence. stay calm and when you have more info post it and hopefully you can get some piece of mind.

Thoie

SNAKEDOC wrote: »

if you have not recieved said summons don't worry about doing the job of the summons server. if it is not served it is returned to sender and the case could be dismissed. sit tight.

I'm really not convinced that's accurate, and from my limited knowledge being a no-show could lead to an automatic fine if it is for something as silly as not producing your documents. As stated previously though, I'm not a solicitor.

castie

Thoie wrote: »

I'm really not convinced that's accurate, and from my limited knowledge being a no-show could lead to an automatic fine if it is for something as silly as not producing your documents. As stated previously though, I'm not a solicitor.

If they dont serve you you cannot be a no-show.

Milk & Honey

castie wrote: »

If they dont serve you you cannot be a no-show.

Service can be deemed good, even if it hasn't actually been affected. In that case a no show can occur and a conviction may result. It is time consuming and messy to try and undo the conviction.

sharpsilver

Thanks everyone ill wait a while and maybe few weeks beforehand ill enquire.

MagicSean

SNAKEDOC wrote: »

have you recieved a summons by hand or mail yet? if so the charge is writen on it so look closely and find out what it is. if you have not recieved said summons don't worry about doing the job of the summons server. if it is not served it is returned to sender and the case could be dismissed. sit tight. make no phone calls to gardai asking or dropping in to the station. a summons must be delivered in an expedious fashion so ten months is a long time i know but in legal terms not very. you may still get it. try and remember the day of the accident did you have all documents and licence the summons could be for something as ridiculous as not producing your licence as all peopleinvolved i rta's are asked to produce their licence within ten days to validate their licence. its sop. standard procedure. if you didn't a summons is issued as infrences can be taken that you have no licence. stay calm and when you have more info post it and hopefully you can get some piece of mind.

This is incorrect. The case will not be dismissed. If the summons is not served then it can be reissued in the future. If you have moved address or left the jurisdiction then it is possible the summons can be served on your old address and still be deemed served by the court.

Pkiernan

MagicSean wrote: »

This is incorrect. The case will not be dismissed. If the summons is not served then it can be reissued in the future. If you have moved address or left the jurisdiction then it is possible the summons can be served on your old address and still be deemed served by the court.

True, but still not a reason to go to the cops and look for a summons!!!

OP: there is absolutley NO upside in you going to the Gardai.

Do not try to contact them, and if they contact you, say nothing.


What is happening here is that the driver of the other involved vehicle has asked that you be charged with dangerous/careless driving in the hopes of bumping up their claim.

Happened to me years ago. I was all set to go down to the Garda station to "help with their inquiries" when my uncle (a Guard himself) told me I'd be stupid to. I took his advice, and nothing ever came of it.

DON'T GO LOOKING FOR TROUBLE.

Pkiernan

sharpsilver wrote: »

Thanks everyone ill wait a while and maybe few weeks beforehand ill enquire.

If you go in to them looking for a summons, you will deserve everything you get.

I am not having a go at you, but think about what you plan on doing.

The guards are not there to help you in this instance. At the request of the other driver, they are looking to have you prosecuted.
You are under no obligation to help them in this regard, and you would be very foolish indeed to try to help them.

Think about what talking to them will do:

"Garda, I was one foot over the line in the misddle of the road"

How on earth can this help you??????????????

charlemont

Thoie wrote: »

I'm really not convinced that's accurate, and from my limited knowledge being a no-show could lead to an automatic fine if it is for something as silly as not producing your documents. As stated previously though, I'm not a solicitor.

The summons will be brought to the District Court and will be stamped and re-issued.

sharpsilver

sorry guys now im more confused!!

sharpsilver

Thread can be closed if mods wish.

MagicSean

Pkiernan wrote: »

True, but still not a reason to go to the cops and look for a summons!!!

OP: there is absolutley NO upside in you going to the Gardai.

Do not try to contact them, and if they contact you, say nothing.


What is happening here is that the driver of the other involved vehicle has asked that you be charged with dangerous/careless driving in the hopes of bumping up their claim.

Happened to me years ago. I was all set to go down to the Garda station to "help with their inquiries" when my uncle (a Guard himself) told me I'd be stupid to. I took his advice, and nothing ever came of it.

DON'T GO LOOKING FOR TROUBLE.

Actually you can be convicted in your absence. The penalties are much greater when this happens.

ResearchWill

MagicSean wrote: »

Actually you can be convicted in your absence. The penalties are much greater when this happens.

Only if you have been correctly served. In this case the OP stated he received a phone call and was told to expect to receive a summons. He was not told to drop into Garda X to pick it up nor was he told a garda was going to call at a set time.

In this case the summons has not been served, how can the OP turn up in court if he does not know the date or which court.

The Guards know the OP number so they can arrange service.