A public transport claim In Ireland seeks compensation for the personal injury you suffer while using the bus, train, tram, or taxi. You make the public transport claim for the effects of the personal injury on your life today and in the future. 

Nearly every town and city in Ireland has some form of public transport, and in Dublin, thousands of people use the Luas, the Dart and Dublin Bus every day of the week.  

Public transport is a safe and reliable way to get to work, college, or to go shopping and socialising. The Department of Transport puts a lot of focus and effort into ensuring Irish public transport meets demands and reaches into most areas of the country.  

Transport for Ireland and other public transport providers put safety procedures in place for passengers, but accidents can and do happen despite this.  

Accidents may cause significant injury and financial problems for people. If you are the victim of a public transport accident, you may have a compensation claim.  

Hughes & Associates Personal Injury Solicitors can help make a compensation claim if you have been in a public transport road traffic accident.

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What is a public transport accident claim?

A public transport claim is when you seek compensation for the injuries and other damages you suffer due to a road traffic accident involving a bus, train, tram or taxi. 

You claim financial compensation to pay for medical treatments, hospital appointments and any other out-of-pocket expenses you may have as a result of an accident on the bus, train, tram or taxi.  

You can also claim for the loss of income, adaptions to the home, being unable to work and other damages suffered due to the road traffic accident. 

The public transport service operator owes you, as a passenger, a duty of care. Public transport accidents can happen, and if yours was due to a breach of duty of care by the transport operator, you may have a compensation claim. 

If you have been involved in a public transport accident that was not wholly your fault, and no matter the severity, you should contact Hughes & Associates Personal Injury Solicitors.  

Hughes & Associates Personal Injury Solicitors try to make the compensation process as straightforward as possible. Being involved in a road traffic accident is very stressful, so our team is here to help with your public transport accident claim.

Common public transport accident compensation claims

Common public transport accident claims range from a broken leg in a fall down the wet steps of a bus to a crush injury when the train door catches your fingers to the shoulder injury when knocked off your bike by a taxi. 

Some common claims for a public transport accident are:  

Injury on a bus public transport accident claims are for the injury when travelling as a passenger on Dublin Bus or any public bus provider in Ireland. 

You could suffer an injury when travelling in a bus, such as: 

  •          A broken finger when the door closes on your hand
  •          The shoulder injury when the bus moves off before you are seated
  •          Facial lacerations if you slip on a poorly maintained floor surface 

If you are injured when travelling on the bus and it was not wholly your fault, you could have a public transport accident claim.

Injury on a train public transport accident claims can happen when you are travelling on the Intercity train service or any of the commuter train services in Ireland. 

You could suffer an injury travelling on a train, such as: 

  •          Bruising following an unprovoked assault by another passenger
  •          Torn ligaments in a fall on the train station platform
  •          Broken wrist in a fall from the train steps 

The trains and other public transport vehicles should be inspected regularly to avoid accidents, and you could have a claim if there is a breach of a duty of care.

An injury on the Luas could be due to the negligence of the driver or the Luas operator. You could have similar public transport accident claims on the Dart as well as other forms of transport in Dublin.  

An injury while travelling in the Luas or Dart could be: 

  •          Broken arm when hit by the Luas at the tram stop
  •          Crushed fingers when they are trapped in the door
  •          Hip injury from a fall off the Luas or the Dart 

The injury could happen due to negligence or in collision with another vehicle, passenger or a structure.  

Injury in a taxi public transport accident claims can happen due to bad weather, poor driving by the taxi driver or if your taxi collides with another road user. 

Common injuries seen in a taxi accident: 

  •          Broken bones in the face when the taxi stops suddenly
  •          Head, neck and shoulder injuries when the taxi is hit from behind
  •          Hand injuries when the door is closed on you 

If you have an injury as a taxi passenger, you could have a compensation claim for the personal injury.  

Injury as a pedestrian in public transport accident claims is when you are hit by a taxi, bus, train, or a Dart or Luas when on the street or public road. 

Injuries suffered by a pedestrian involved in a public transport accident: 

  •          Spinal injury when hit by a taxi when crossing the road
  •          Broken leg when hit by a bus that mounts the pavement
  •          Internal organ damage when knocked down by the Luas 

Any injury a pedestrian suffers could see you spending time in hospital or being off work for weeks and months. You can claim compensation if you are injured by any form of public transport. 

Hughes & Associates Personal Injury Solicitors can look at your case and see if you have a compensation claim for a public transport accident.

Contact Hughes & Associates for help with your personal injury claim today.

Compensation for public transport accident claims

Compensation for public transport accident claims is for when you suffer an injury while travelling on the bus, train, Luas Dart, or taxi in Ireland. The compensation is for the damages suffered today and in the future. 

There are two types of damages in a personal injury public transport claim in Ireland:

  • General damages in a public transport accident claim
  • Special damages in a public transport accident claim

A successful claim could see you receive compensation. The compensation you receive will be a combination of the two types of damages.  

General Damages in a Public Transport Accident Claim

General damages in a public transport accident claim will see you compensated for the Loss of Amenity due to the accident on the bus, train, tram or taxi, such as difficulty in walking, exercising or in getting to work. 

You can also claim for the Pain and Suffering due to the injury you suffered in the public transport accident.

Special Damages in a Public Transport Accident Claim

Special damages in a public transport accident claim are for the costs and expenses that you will have due to the accident on the bus, train, Luas or Dart and taxi. 

Special damages in a public transport accident could be:

  • Medical costs
  • Loss of earnings
  • Travel costs
  • Cost of care
  • Cost of aids and equipment

A public transport injury claim in Ireland seeks compensation by combining the two damages due to the many types of injury suffered on public transport.

Types of Public Transport Accident Injury in Ireland

Types of public transport accident injury in Ireland range from a broken ankle in a fall off the bus to the back injury in a taxi road traffic collision. 

You could suffer a public transport injury when travelling on:

  • The Intercity train service
  • A commuter train service
  • Dublin Bus
  • The Luas
  • The Dart
  • A taxi
  • A Transport for Ireland bus
  • An Intercity bus service
  • An airport coach

The operators of the public service transport company owe every passenger a duty of care. If they breach that duty of care, causing you to suffer an injury, you could have a public transport injury claim. 

Common types of public transport injuries in Ireland:

  • Broken fingers
  • Broken hands
  • Torn shoulder ligaments
  • Snapped tendons in the ankle
  • Facial lacerations
  • Sprained wrist
  • Head, neck and shoulder injuries
  • Cracked skull
  • Spinal nerve damage
  • Broken hip
  • Broken arm
  • Crush finger injuries
  • Internal organ damage

You could have a compensation claim if you suffer any injury in a public transport accident. 

Hughes & Associates Personal Injury Solicitors can examine your case and help you make a public transport accident claim.

At Hughes & Associates personal injury solicitors we offer vast experience and in-depth knowledge of every type of road traffic accident claim. Contact our Dublin offices today for an assessment of your case and advice on your options moving forward.

How to make a public transport accident claim

At Hughes & Associates Personal Injury Solicitors, we want to make making a public transport accident claim as easy as possible. 

You have gone through enough stress while dealing with your road traffic accident, and we can help you take steps to make a successful compensation claim. 

The steps are designed to provide an efficient and effective way to make a claim for public transport accident compensation.

The first step to make a claim is to contact a personal injury solicitor. You can contact Hughes & Associates Personal Injury Solicitors today and outline the issues you have experienced.  

We will take the time to understand your situation and build a professional relationship with you.  

You and your solicitor work together to create your compensation case.  

One of the main aspects of this step is to gather evidence. We will want to look at your medical records, security footage of the public transport accident, and any eyewitness accounts related to your case.  

If you have reported the accident to the Gardai, we can look at the Garda report as part of creating your public accident case. 

The solicitor helping you with the case will know what areas of evidence to cover and what will help your case the best.  

When the claim is complete, we can make your public transport accident claim by sending a letter of claim to the Personal Injury Assessment Board, PIAB. 

The PIAB will assess your case and recommend a compensation payment, or they may reject your case. 

The solicitor or insurance company for the guilty party has several weeks to reply to the PIAB compensation claim recommendation. 

When a PIAB is accepted at this stage, the process of providing your compensation will begin.  

When a public transport claim is rejected, or if you are not happy with the amount of compensation offered, we can begin court proceedings on your behalf.

Going to court can be the next step if the defendant rejects the claim or you feel you should receive more in compensation. 

Court proceedings are rare, although your Hughes & Associates solicitor will be prepared. 

We may look to gather further evidence to support your claim when it comes to a court hearing. Often, a public injury claim is settled on the morning of the court case when the guilty party realises you are not backing down and they look at your evidence. 

When the court case is successful, the process of paying your compensation for a public transport accident claim will follow.  

How to prove a public transport accident claim

The way to prove a public transport accident claim is to gather as much evidence as possible.  

The more evidence you have, the harder it will be for the defendant to reject your claim.  

You can gather evidence such as:

  • Medical records
  • Take photos with your phone of the accident scene
  • Gather CCTV footage where possible
  • Get eyewitness accounts
  • Get details of eyewitnesses
  • Get the names and phone numbers of anyone involved
  • Write down any vehicle information
  • Call the gardai if necessary
  • Get the incident report from the public transport provider
  • Take photos of your injuries

Your phone can be a great way to gather evidence to prove a public transport accident claim. 

If you are unsure how to gather or obtain this evidence, your Hughes & Associates Personal Injury solicitor will be able to help. 

How long do you have to make a claim for personal injury in Ireland?

You have two years to make any claim for personal injury in Ireland—the two years to make a claim begin from the date of the public transport accident. 

You could also have a case of ‘date of knowledge’, which is the date you became aware of the injuries you experienced in a bus, train, tram, or taxi accident. In such cases, it could be more than two years later that a doctor traces the pain you are suffering back to the injury in a public transport accident. 

In all cases of personal injury, it is recommended that you begin your claim process as soon as possible after an accident. Making the claim as soon as possible makes it easier to obtain evidence while your memory is fresh and the injury is more obvious. 

Hughes & Associates Personal Injury Solicitors can help with all aspects of your public transport injury claim.

Make a public transport injury claim today

Make a public transport injury claim today by contacting Hughes & Associates Personal Injury Solicitors. 

You could have a compensation claim if you were injured in a public transport accident due to a breach of duty of care by the operator.  

The broken arm, crushed fingers, medical bills, and loss of income could be a direct result of the injury on the bus, train, tram or taxi. 

Contact Hughes & Associates Personal Injury Solicitors today for a confidential and professional service with your public transport injury compensation claim.

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