Northern Ireland

HF Northern Ireland are now established as the number one defence firm in the region, representing numerous insurers. Our expertise includes working on cases from recoveries for insurers to dealing with multi-million pound catastrophic injury claims. We have been at the forefront of developments in litigation in Northern Ireland for many years and continue to lead the way in providing guidance and assistance to insurer clients. Our Northern Ireland office is headed by Matthew Fitzpatrick who has dealt with some of the largest personal injury claims ever settled in NI and has considerable experience in proactive and pragmatic negotiations.

Pre-action assistance and advice

The team often provides pre-litigation assistance to clients whose cases are a pre-issue stage. The court rules in Northern Ireland mean that claimant solicitors often do not disclose documentation at the pre-issue stage, making it difficult for insurers to reserve and consider their files accordingly. To counter this, we have pioneered and implemented bespoke strategies that enable insurers to gain information pre-issue and allow them to set strategies that combat issues such as exaggeration of claims and fraud.

Tailored strategies

Using the varied experience of our solicitors, we take an extremely proactive approach to claims allowing our insurer clients to be at the forefront when combating over exaggerated claims, fraud and credit hire. In order to control indemnity spend in a complex claims’ environment, it has become increasingly important to ‘know your opponents’. Their tactics are constantly evolving, so it’s important that we work closely with our clients to identify opponent behaviours to enable us to develop and deploy the most effective strategies.

Our expertise

Credit Hire

Credit hire is not common within the Irish market and for that reason significant savings can be made via early negotiations, particularly in injury cases. The PIAB doesn’t make full provision for large credit hire claims, and most of the hire providers pursuing claims in this market know this. We have a wealth of experience in reducing credit hire claims and challenging spurious additional charges, unlike many firms in the jurisdiction, who are unlikely to have had the same level of exposure to hire claims across Ireland.

Counter Fraud

Our experience and well-honed strategies implemented across the UK means we are uniquely placed to aggressively tackle fraud within the Irish market. Ireland has a reputation as the claims capital of Europe and there are many reasons for this: the high awards compared to other jurisdictions; the simplicity of the PIAB process; the apparently pro-plaintiff courts and eye-watering legal costs, amongst other things.

Large Loss

Throughout a large loss claim, we act as an extension of the insurance/ litigation team and are always on hand to provide the crucial support needed to achieve the best possible outcome. This collaborative approach gives us even greater insight into the needs and demands of our clients, ensuring we are always devising the right strategy to meet their needs.

Recoveries

We recognise that an insurer’s ability to recover their outlay is fundamental to enhancing their customer’s journey, as well as growing their business and improving cash flow. We are experienced and, importantly, very efficient at carrying out this essential function on behalf of our clients. We aim to reduce lifecycles and change behaviours in the market.

Large & Complex Injury

Given the complexity of these claims we work closely and collaboratively with our clients throughout the life of a claim. Early advice is crucial for these claims along with sensitive handling. Our team is experienced in many types of claim, including fatal accidents, spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries, complex multiple injury cases and abuse claims.

Contact us

For expert legal advice from real people in our specialist teams, get in touch – we look forward to hearing from you.