A brain injury can affect memory, concentration, mood and behaviour as well as movement, sometimes in ways that are hard to see. This page explains how brain injury claims are proved and valued in Ireland.
A brain injury claim is a claim for damage to the brain caused by someone else's negligence.
Most are traumatic, where the head is struck or violently shaken: a driver or cyclist in a collision, a worker hit by a falling load, or a fall from a ladder or scaffold.
Others are hypoxic, where the brain is starved of oxygen, or follow a bleed or infection that was not diagnosed in time. Those cases are usually medical negligence claims.
Moderate and mild brain injuries are often missed at first. A person may be sent home from the emergency department and only later notice headaches, fatigue, poor memory, irritability or difficulty following a conversation.
Family members often see the changes first, so their accounts become part of the evidence.
The early records matter most: the ambulance and emergency notes, the Glasgow Coma Scale score, the CT or MRI scans, and how long the person had no continuous memory after the injury, known as post-traumatic amnesia.
Later, a consultant neurologist reports on the injury and the outlook, and a neuropsychologist tests memory, attention, planning and processing speed.
Depending on the symptoms, there may also be reports from a neuropsychiatrist, a consultant in rehabilitation medicine, an occupational therapist and a speech and language therapist.
The route depends on the cause. A brain injury from a road crash, a work accident or a fall in a public place goes to the Injuries Resolution Board first, and the person at fault must be written to within one month.
The Board can decline to assess a complex brain injury, or wait for a long-term prognosis, and the claim then goes to court. Read how the Injuries Resolution Board works.
A brain injury caused by medical treatment does not go to the Board. It goes through the courts, and supportive independent medical evidence is needed before proceedings issue.
Recovery after a brain injury can continue for a long time, so the claim is usually not valued until the neurologist and neuropsychologist can describe the long-term picture. Our article on the brain injury compensation process explains the stages.
Contact us through our enquiry form, phone, or email. We’ll review your situation, answer your questions, and explain what to expect next. There’s no upfront fee to begin your claim.
Your case will be carefully reviewed by our legal team.
We assess the strength of your claim, advise on the documentation needed, and guide you through key steps such as attending an independent medical examination and preparing the information required for the Injuries Resolution Board (IRB).
Once you decide to move forward, we take care of everything. This includes gathering evidence, contacting the other party or their insurer, submitting your claim to the IRB, managing settlement discussions, and handling any court proceedings if needed.
Paul Kearney founded the practice and leads its personal injury work in Ireland. He is regulated by the Law Society of Ireland. Read Paul's profile.
We prepare your application to the Injuries Resolution Board, including the medical evidence, and advise you on any assessment before you decide whether to accept it.
You can meet us at any of our four offices, or deal with us by phone, email or video, wherever you live in Ireland.
There are no upfront fees. Before you go ahead, we set out in writing how legal costs work, as section 150 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 requires. No Win No Fee explained.
Yes, if it was caused by someone else's negligence. A mild traumatic brain injury can still cause lasting headaches, dizziness, fatigue and poor concentration.
The Personal Injuries Guidelines have a separate category for minor brain damage or head injury, graded by the severity of the injury and how long recovery takes.
A normal CT or MRI scan does not rule out a brain injury.
Some damage to the brain's connections does not show on routine scans, so the evidence also relies on the symptoms recorded over time, the length of post-traumatic amnesia and the results of neuropsychological testing.
A neuropsychologist uses standardised tests to measure memory, attention, reasoning and processing speed, and compares the results with what would be expected for someone of your age and background.
Their report shows how the injury affects work, study and daily life, which is central to valuing the claim.
Yes. Changes in temper, motivation, judgement and relationships are often the hardest part of a brain injury for a family.
The Personal Injuries Guidelines list personality change and the effect on family relationships among the factors that decide the award. Statements from family, friends and colleagues help to show what has changed.
Capacity is presumed, and under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 it is assessed one decision at a time. A person with a brain injury may be able to make some decisions with help, through a decision-making assistant or co-decision-maker, and not others.
Where an adult cannot decide about the claim even with support, the Circuit Court can appoint a decision-making representative.
Yes. Examples include a bleed on the brain not picked up after a head injury, delayed treatment of meningitis or encephalitis, and a lack of oxygen during surgery or anaesthesia.
The claim must show that care fell below the standard of a reasonably careful practitioner of the same specialty and that this caused the injury, the test from Dunne v National Maternity Hospital [1989] IR 91.
Brain injuries around birth are covered on our birth injury claims page.
Usually the employer, under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the General Application Regulations 2007.
Many head injuries at work follow a fall from a ladder, roof or scaffold, which Part 4 of the Regulations covers, or a load falling from above. See accidents at work.
Two years from the date of the injury or the date of knowledge, under the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act 1991.
Time does not run while a person lacks capacity, which can matter after a serious brain injury, and for a child the two years start at 18. Families should still get advice early, while witnesses and records are easy to trace.
No. There are no upfront fees. Before you go ahead, we give you clear written terms explaining how legal costs work, as section 150 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 requires. Read No Win No Fee explained.
Regulated by the Law Society of Ireland
Kearney Law handles only personal injury and clinical negligence claims.
We act for clients across Ireland, including Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Letterkenny. See all the areas we cover.
Contact us to talk to a solicitor about your claim, or request a case review.
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