Displaying items by tag: road traffic accidents

The Minister for Finance, Michael Nonnan, has advised that all third party claims against Setanta Insurance Company, in liquidation, will be accepted by the Motor Insures Bureau of Ireland (MIBI).

A man who was injured when he was hit by flying particles of glass when a branch broke the front top deck window on a Dublin Bus has obtained €8,000 in compensation*.

The man took a personal injury* claim against Dublin Bus for the injuries he suffered. Counsel for the man told Judge Matthew Deery in the Circuit Court that the man was sitting with his wife when particles of glass was sprayed all over them.

The man in his evidence told the court that he was enveloped in a cloud of dust and debris and matter went into his eyes. He said that a few days after the incident he took what he believed was a glass crystal from his right eye. The man alleged that he had difficulty for a short while afterwards with far sighted vision, light change when entering a lighted area from darkness and with night vision generally

The Judge in awarding him €8,000 in damages said that expert evidence did not substantiate the mans claims but he accepted the man had suffered discomfort from dry eye syndrome for several months following the accident.

*In contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.

The Transport Minister, Leo Varadkar will unveil targets to make significant reduction to the national death toll after the level of fatalities more than halved since 2007.

The focus will also switch to people suffering severe brain, spinal and leg injuries after Road Safety Authority (RSA) figures revealed 485 people were seriously hurt in road accidents last year. They aim to get this figure down to 330 serious injuries a year.

The Government will outline the new 2020 targets which will target further reductions in road deaths after falls of 12% each year for the last two years in a row. The strategy aims to make Ireland one of the safest countries to travel by road in Europe, if not the world.

For every person killed on Europe's roads there are 10 serious injuries such as damage to the brain or spinal cord. Ireland now ranks among the top five safest countries in the EU for fatal road traffic accidents. According to the RSA, there was a 56% decrease in road deaths and a 51% reduction in serious injuries up to the end of 2011 since the third road safety strategy was launched in 2007.

If you suffer a personal injury* through no fault of your own as a result of a road traffic accident, you could be entitled to redress for the injuries you have suffered.