How to make your personal injury claim in the Circuit Court

1 - Complete your Circuit Court personal injury summons

Making a claim in the Circuit Court

To make a personal injury claim you, or your solicitor, will have to complete a Circuit Court Personal Injuries Summons.

If you are making your claim in the Circuit Court you are the plaintiff and the person or organisation you are making the claim against is known as the defendant.

Where to make your claim

To submit your personal injury summons you need to find the relevant Circuit Court office.

Your claim can be made in the court office where the respondent is based or the location of the accident.

Completing your personal injury summons

The personal injury summons notifies the defendant that you are making a claim against them.

As part of your summons you, or your solicitor will need to provide:

1. Plaintiff details

You must include your name, address, occupation and PPSN.

If someone under eighteen years of age is injured or if someone is fatally injured, a 'next friend' must complete their summons. You must include their name, address, PPSN and original birth certificate.

The name on their summons must match the name on their birth certificate.

You must also attach an Affidavit of Next Friend to the personal injury summons. This confirms that you are willing and capable to manage the case on their behalf.

2. Defendant details

You must include the name and address of the defendant. If the defendant is under eighteen years of age, you have to include the name and address of their parent/guardian.

3. Details of your claim

You must provide a description of your claim, a full account of your injury, how the respondent caused your injury, and how much you are claiming for.

If you have not been able to resolve your claim through the Injuries Resolution Board, you must include a statement from them that authorisation has been given to bring your claim to court. You must include the reference number and date of issue.

Without the above details it won't be possible to issue you or your solicitor with the summons.

Affidavit of verification

Your personal injury summons must be supported by a sworn statement called a Circuit Court affidavit of verification. This is a written declaration, sworn to be true by the person signing it. The affidavit outlines the facts and evidence supporting your case. Any extra information not in the summons must be included here.

You or your solicitor must swear the affidavit before a practising solicitor, peace commissioner, or commissioner for oaths. Once this is done, a copy of the affidavit must be provided to the other party. The original affidavit, which should be stamped and sworn, must then be submitted to the Court office. There is a €15 fee to submit your affidavit of verification.

It can be submitted at any stage between when you file your personal injury summons and before your case goes to court.

2 - Submit and serve your Circuit Court personal injury summons

Submitting your personal injury summons

To submit your personal injury summons, you need to find the relevant Circuit Court office.

There is a €130 fee to submit your summons. You can pay at the counter with cash or use a debit or credit card. If you submit your summons by post, you can pay by postal order, bank draft or solicitors cheque.

You or your solicitor should submit the original and two copies of your personal injury summons to the court office. The original and a copy are returned to you or your solicitor and a copy is kept in the court office.

If there are some details missing from the summons, the office may return it to you for further information.

Serving your personal injury summons

Once you have submitted your personal injury summons, and it has been issued by the court office, you must send a copy of the personal injury summons to the defendant. This is called serving the claim.

Once it is issued by the court office, you or your solicitor have one year to serve it on the defendant or their solicitor. Please see our serving and proof of service page for more information.

If the defendant is outside of the EU jurisdiction (for example in the UK) you or your solicitor will have to apply to the court to serve the summons. There is a fee of €130 to make the application to serve outside the jurisdiction of Ireland. This must be done before your summons is issued and does not need to be served on the other side.

If they are based in Ireland, the defendant or their solicitor has ten days to respond to your claim. They must serve an appearance form on you or your solicitor and the court office. Once they have done this, they have a further six weeks to provide their defence. They will serve this on you or your solicitor.

If the defendant is outside of Ireland in the EU they have thirty five days to file an appearance and a further twenty eight days for the defence

3 - After your summons is served

Once your personal injury summons is issued, your case officially starts. The time it takes to get a court hearing can vary. You or the defendant can apply to the court for more information. The pre-trial stage can be lengthy, as both parties exchange documents and information.

More information on pre-trial applications >

There is no response to your claim

Once the defendant has received your personal injury summons, they must reply to it within the appropriate timeframe. If they do not respond to your claim, you can make an application for judgement without their reply.

More information on what you can do if there is no response to your claim >

Your case is settled

You and the other side can agree on a settlement at any point after the personal injury summons has been issued. Many cases are resolved through negotiation between all the parties involved. This avoids the need for a trial. 

More information on what to do if your case is settled >

4 - Submit your notice of trial in the Circuit Court

Notice of Trial

A notice of trial is a formal document that tells the court and everyone involved that the case is ready to proceed to court for a full hearing. It can be submitted by you or the defendant.

You or your solicitor must submit the original Circuit Court notice of trial to the relevant Circuit Court office. There is a €130 fee to submit your notice of trial. 

Once you have paid the relevant fee, the office will return the stamped document(s) to you.

If your case is in Dublin, you or your solicitor must serve a copy of the notice of trial on the other side twenty one days before your hearing date.

For cases outside of Dublin,  you or your solicitor must serve a copy of the notice of trial on the other side ten days before your hearing date.

The case will be listed before the County Registrar to set a date and time for hearing. This is known as a callover list. How cases are listed for hearing can vary between Circuit Courts. You should contact the court office for more information

5 - Attending your Circuit Court hearing

Your Circuit Court hearing

In the Circuit Court, the court office may notify you of your hearing date or it will be published in the legal diary. You or your solicitor must attend court on this date for the hearing of your case.

On the day your case is being heard, you or your solicitor must be present at the time the list starts. You must bring all documents relevant to your case. The respondent or their legal representation will also be present.

The judge will consider the legal arguments that are made and the evidence that has been provided to them from you and the defendant. The judge may also hear from witnesses and relevant experts in the case.

Please see our preparing for civil court pages for more information on what to expect in court.

Read more about preparing for court >

Results from your hearing

Your case can have a number of outcomes.

The judge may:

• make an order in your favour
• make an order in favour of the respondent
• adjourn the case to another date if necessary
  

The judge can also decide who pays the legal costs of the case.

You or the other side can appeal the courts decision. Please visit the appeals page for further information.