What to do after a car accident in Ireland

You have been in a collision, you are hurt, and you want to know what to do first. This guide sets out the first week in order: the scene, the Gardaí, the doctor, the insurers, the one-month letter, and the two years. None of it decides whether anyone was at fault. It gives you the steps and the dates, and nothing more.

At the scene

Section 106 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 says what every driver must do: stop, stay at the scene for a reasonable time, and give your name, address, registration and insurance details to anyone who has reasonable grounds to ask. The same duty falls on the other driver.

Take the other driver's name, address, registration number and insurer. Take the names and numbers of anyone who saw it. If you can, photograph the vehicles where they stopped, the damage, the road, the weather and the light. If you cannot do this yourself, ask a passenger or a passer-by.

Nothing you say at the scene about fault helps you. "Are you all right?" is enough. Insurers read statements made at the roadside as evidence.

The Gardaí and the report

Where anyone is injured, report the collision to the Gardaí. Section 106 requires a report where no Garda is present at the scene, and the Board's own form asks for the Garda station and the date of the report. Note the station, the date and the name of the Garda you spoke to.

The Garda abstract, the station's record of the collision, can be requested later. The Garda report guide explains how to get it and what it does and does not prove. It records what was reported; it does not decide liability.

The doctor and the record

See a doctor the same day or as soon as you can, even if the injury feels minor. Whiplash symptoms often appear a day or two later. Tell the doctor how the collision happened and describe every symptom exactly as it is.

That visit matters twice. It is the first dated record of the injury, and the Board's medical report, the Medical Assessment Form (Form B), is written by the treating doctor or GP. The Board says it cannot begin an assessment without it. Keep every receipt from the start: the GP fee, physiotherapy, prescriptions, travel to appointments. The Board's making-a-claim page says expenses can be sent after the application is made.

Your own insurer

Your policy requires you to tell your insurer about any collision, usually within days, whether or not you intend to claim on it. Telling your insurer is not the same as making a claim on your own policy, and most policies let you say so. Keep a note of the date and the claim reference.

The other driver's insurer

The other driver's insurer may ring you. Under the Central Bank's Consumer Protection Code an insurer dealing with a claimant must act honestly and fairly. That does not make the call a neutral one. A recorded statement is evidence; an offer to settle the injury early is an offer to end the claim before the injury is known.

Vehicle damage can be dealt with separately. The Board's claimant FAQ says settling the damage to the car does not affect the injury claim. The insurer guide goes through what to say and what to leave in writing, and the direct settlement guide explains what a direct offer means.

If the other driver was uninsured or drove off

Where the other driver had no insurance or cannot be traced, the claim goes to the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland on its Claim Notification Form, by email or registered post, under the MIBI Agreement 2009. The MIBI expects a Garda report within two days where possible, so report at once. The Board's process still applies. The MIBI guide sets out the steps.

The one-month letter

Section 8 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 asks for a written notice to the person you hold responsible, served within one month of the collision, stating the nature of the wrong alleged. It is a short letter. It does not describe your injuries, name a figure or argue fault.

If the letter is late without reasonable cause, the court shall draw such inferences as appear proper and may make no order for your costs, or deduct from them. The section 8 guide explains the letter, and the letter builder writes it in the statutory terms.

The two years

Section 3 of the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act 1991 gives two years from the date of the collision, or from the later date of knowledge of the injury. The last safe day is the day before the second anniversary.

A Board application pauses the clock from the date it is made until six months after the Board's Authorisation issues. The time-limit guide explains the date of knowledge and the pause.

The Board

Nearly every personal injury claim in Ireland goes first to the Injuries Resolution Board, the body people still search as PIAB (see the glossary). Section 12 of the 2003 Act means a claim cannot go to court until the Board has dealt with it or issued an Authorisation.

The application is the Board's own online form (€45 online, €90 by post), the medical report on Form B, and proof of identity. The Board says in terms that a solicitor is not required. The respondent, usually the other driver's insurer, has 90 days to consent to an assessment. The Board then assesses on the documents, on the assumption that the respondent is fully liable, and must do so within nine months of consent. The lead Board guide walks through every step.

If you were a passenger, a pedestrian or a cyclist, the respondent may be either driver, or both. The passengers guide covers who is named.

Whiplash and what the Guidelines say

Whiplash, a soft tissue injury to the neck, is the commonest injury in road traffic claims. The Personal Injuries Guidelines, adopted by the Judicial Council on 6 March 2021, set the brackets the Board and the courts must have regard to. The Guidelines' bracket for an injury described like this depends on how long a substantial recovery takes:

These are general damages only, for pain and suffering. Expenses and lost earnings are added and vouched. The Guidelines carry a paragraph on whiplash that every claimant should read: "Allegations of such injuries are easily made and not easily disproved. Medical experts are reliant on the honesty of claimants. The evidence relating to such a claim requires careful scrutiny." Describing the injury exactly, to the doctor and on the form, is the whole of the answer to that. The whiplash guide sets out the full neck section and what moves an award within a bracket.

The figures above are the 2021 figures. The Judicial Council approved a 16.7% increase in December 2024, but it needs a resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas that has not been moved, so the 2021 brackets still apply. The changes page tracks it.

What the figures show

The Board's Award Values Report for July to December 2025 gives a median award in motor cases of €12,850, up from €12,510 the year before. That is the middle award across every motor claim the Board assessed, with special damages included, and not a figure for any one injury.

The Central Bank's National Claims Information Database reports that in the first half of 2025 a motor injury claim settled directly with an insurer cost €14,233 on average, one settled through the Board €22,658, and one litigated €66,100, of which €26,752 was legal costs, after 4.7 years. The averages are not like for like: the larger and more contested claims go further. The figures page carries each figure with its date and source.

What not to do in the first week

Do not sign a settlement, a discharge or a statement for an insurer before the injury has settled. Do not post about the collision or the injury on social media. Do not describe the injury as worse, or better, than it is: section 26 of the 2004 Act requires a court to dismiss a claim that is false or misleading in a material respect, and the Board refers suspected fraud.

Where this leaves you

You have the order of things: the Gardaí, the doctor, your insurer, the one-month letter, the two years, the Board. The first-week checklist prints these steps for a road traffic collision, with the sources beside them, so you can tick them off on paper.