In the Northern Irish legal system, the person making the claim is called the plaintiff.
The person who is alleged to have caused the accident is called the defendant.
If you win your
personal injury claim, the defendant will be responsible for paying your compensation.
Most of the time, the defendant will have an insurance policy to deal with claims. A driver in a road traffic accident will (almost always) be insured. An employer or the owner of a commercial premises should be insured too.
When you warn the defendant that you intend to make a claim, they will tell their insurance company.
It will then step in and manage the
claim process.
(Note: just to make things easier – when we use the word “defendant”, we’re also talking about any insurance company managing the claim on that defendant’s behalf.)
Sometimes a defendant won’t have a valid insurance policy. In those cases, the defendant themselves will be responsible.
In road traffic accidents, the
Motor Insurers’ Bureau provides cover where a defendant is not insured or can’t be identified.
So always remember to find out the details of who is at fault for the accident, if at all possible.
