Any guidance appreciated.
Received a careless driving summons last week. Contacted a solicitor, they quoted 4k to 5k, payment required upfront. Is this a standard price? Should I go with the solicitor or attend without, by myself?
the scaremongering and utter BS that comes up in in the insurance forum is quite unbelievable.
OP - Ignore 90% of the utter crap written here.
Insurance claim is settled. That is the END of the insurance element. And it is not an admittance of 100% fault - insurance take a financial view and look for the lowest cost result in most cases. 6k personal injury settlement suggests very little if any injury and certainly no long term issue.
You are simply up for careless driving. If there was "bodily harm" (not half made up whiplash - but broken limbs etc) it can be serious and solicitor is essential.
So you need to think was was the cause of the accident and what specific action caused the charge of careless driving. This will dictate what level of legal representation you need. Using mobile phone? Overtaking on unbroken line? Illegal turn? Running a red light? Undertaking? Brake checking?
My guess is its at the lower end of things. Regular court solicitor (as you seem to have done) and €300-€500 cost.
Yes I don't think they could defend, but rather would represent, for exactly the reasons you've said. The whole thing has been a lesson and one I hope I'll never have to repeat.
The insurance company might say that they believe they will ultimately be found liable. That does not mean they have settled or will settle anytime soon. They may well let the o/p defend the case and see if anything turns up. Insurance companies often have someone at an inquest to note anything which might help in dealing with a claim. Sometimes the claiming driver is caught out in a lie.
Some years ago I remember getting insurance and an additional (apparently at no extra cost!) policy which would cover personal legal costs.
That may be the case here.
The OP's insurance has settled, it's a done deal. I stated that in the post you quoted. See post #3 - 'all settled last year'.
So the outcome of the careless driving case will have no bearing on the issue of civil liability, that has already been conceded. Because even if he is found not guilty, that doesn't mean the other guy was at fault and the insurance can attempt to claw their money back, it simply means that the Gardai failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. But the bar for civil liability is much lower and the OP's insurance have probably seen the dashcam video and thrown in the towel.
It is still open to the other driver to make a personal injury claim. the insurance will not want a guilty plea in case that happens.
Is it the practice for an insurance company to settle with a specific party for material damage while leaving the option open for the same person to later lodge a personal injury claim?
I thought they only paid out if the party agreed to accept the payment as a 'full and final' settlement. What you're suggesting is that a motorist could be compensated for the damage to his car but he would be free to lodge a whiplash or similar claim a year later?
Hi, the other driver made a personal injury claim last year and it was settled for 6k. (in addition to car fix of 8k) Are you saying there could be another personal injury claim, I would have thought that wasn't possible?
Appreciate that!
Advice here. Best outcome is the guard doesn't turn up but still pay the solr. E4-5k a rip off
At this stage now you are dragging the a**e out of it. Just get a solicitor to represent you. They will seek disclosure the next time it’s up in court and you will know exactly what is in the careless driving charge against you (i.e the evidence) and your solicitor can advise from there. Simple as that.
If this is in Dublin, go to Court 8 in the CCJ (the summons court that deals with most non drink drive road traffic offences) and see what solicitors are handling the majority of cases. There would be 3 or 4 who have the court sewn up, are there every day & know all the traffic guards and court staff and the personalities and pet hates of the Judge's that sit there. When the court rises, pull one of those solicitors aside and explain your situation. Unless you have a high income and have minimum outgoings like no children and no mortgage or rent, you will very likely be covered by legal aid. The solicitor would explain this to you as well.
Ringing around solicitors is no use, as many of them would cover regular district court cases alright, but plenty wouldn't be too familiar with road traffic stuff. The firm that's on about 3x court appearances and barrister sounds like one of them.
@peter4918 hardly, I'm responding if someone asks me something, is that not the norm here? I already have if you read my post from last week.
Tks, that's what I've done.
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