In personal injury and medical negligence actions the Irish plaintiff and their solicitor have traditionally found themselves at the distinct disadvantage of having to litigate against defendants with the full backing of a deep pocketed insurer with full recourse to the necessary financial resources to defendant a claim to its fullest extent.

Temple considers that this puts the plaintiff at a wholly unfair advantage in the litigation as the plaintiff or their firm will not have that same access to that same level of financial support.  Temple’s ATE policy, incorporating interim claims, allows the plaintiff make a claim under the terms of the policy to resource the procuring of medical and other expert reports.

This has the effect of allowing a plaintiff to get to trial without incurring the cost of court fees and outlays which might otherwise dissuade the insured from bringing a claim to vindicate their legal rights. Thus ATE with our Interim Claims facility is an important product in securing access to justice for individuals with limited financial resources.

This solution has not been used in Ireland previously and is designed specifically to meet the clear need for a cost effective solution for payment of outlays during personal injury and medical negligence legal actions. Otherwise insureds or their solicitors will be paying for these outlays themselves which presents a financial barrier for consumers in progressing with litigation. ATE insurance with an Interim Claims facility can help to stabilise the law firm’s finances by ensuring that legal outlays if funded by the firm do not become a burden in the event of an unsuccessful case as the Interim Claim payments for expert reports are covered under the terms of the ATE policy.