Summary: If you're injured as a visitor in Ireland, the next hour or two matters for your health and any claim you later bring. Get medical help and create a record. Report the accident to the right person, the Gardai for a road accident or the venue for an accident on premises. Photograph the scene, take witness contact details, and keep your receipts. You can claim under Irish law even after you fly home.

What should you do immediately after an accident in Ireland?

Make sure everyone is safe, then get help and a record. The first hour or two matters more than most visitors expect. These five steps put your health first and protect a future claim second.

1. Check for danger and get to safety. For a road accident, switch on hazard lights and keep clear of moving traffic.
2. Call 999 or 112 if anyone is hurt. Both numbers are free from any phone. If you cannot speak, you can register for and use the 112 emergency SMS service.
3. Get medical attention, even for minor symptoms. Ask for a copy of your record before you leave the clinic or hospital.
4. Report the accident to the right person. The Gardai for a road accident, the venue or operator for an accident on premises.
5. Photograph the scene and take witness contacts, then get legal advice before you fly home.

You do not have to do all this alone. If you're shaken, a travelling companion can take the photos or note witness numbers while you are treated. Together, these five steps are what we call the First-Hour Visitor Triage, your priorities while you're still in Ireland. If you call 999 or 112, help can take longer to reach a remote rural spot, so keep yourself safe and visible while you wait.

Get medical help and create a record while you're here

A medical record made in Ireland is your strongest evidence. It ties your injury to the accident in a way that a note made weeks later at home cannot. A gap in treatment gives an insurer room to argue the injury was minor or caused by something else. Since September 2023 the Injuries Resolution Board will not accept a claim without a medical report attached, so the record matters for the process too.

For an urgent injury, go straight to an emergency department. For something less serious, a GP, an out-of-hours GP service, or a minor injury unit can treat you and create the same contemporaneous record. According to Citizens Information, an emergency department visit without a GP referral costs 100 euro, and a minor injury unit costs 75 euro. There's no charge if you're referred by a GP, admitted, or covered under EU rules.

Visitors from the EU, the EEA, or the UK can use a valid EHIC or UK GHIC for necessary public treatment, as the HSE explains. Carry the card, because hospitals charge the non-resident rate if you cannot present it. Visitors from outside the EU usually pay the full cost, which is why travel insurance matters. Keep every receipt, as treatment and travel costs form part of a later claim. An EHIC or insurance payout is not the same as compensation, which we explain in travel insurance versus a claim.

Calling 999 or 112 for an emergency ambulance is free in Ireland. A valid EHIC or GHIC covers necessary public treatment even after a road accident, so present it if you have one. If you must pay, because you're from outside the EU or cannot show a card, keep every bill, as your treatment costs form part of your claim.

Who do you report the accident to?

It depends on where the accident happened. Reporting to the right person on the day creates the contemporaneous record that supports your claim. That record is far harder to obtain once you've left the country. Find your situation below.

For a road accident you have a legal duty to stop, give your details, and report to the Gardai if none attend. That duty comes under section 106 of the Road Traffic Act 1961. Ask for the incident reference so you can request the Garda incident number later.

For an accident on premises, the occupier owes visitors a duty of care under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1995. Ask staff to log the accident in their accident book and request a copy or a reference number before you leave. That entry, made on the day, is the record an insurer finds hardest to dispute. In our experience, the visitors who struggle later are the ones who left without that reference.

Start gathering evidence that travels home with you

Capture what fades before you leave the country. This is the capture step of the First-Hour Visitor Triage. Physical evidence disappears fast. Wet floors get cleaned, hazards get fixed, and camera footage gets erased. Secure these six things while you're still in Ireland.

1. A copy of your Irish medical record.
2. The report reference, either the Garda PULSE number or the venue's accident-book entry.
3. Dated photos of the scene, the hazard, and your visible injuries.
4. Witness names with an email and a phone number that includes the country code.
5. Receipts for treatment, travel, and anything you had to replace.
6. Any CCTV you've asked the operator to keep.

Camera footage is usually overwritten within about 30 days, so request it quickly. You can ask the operator for footage of yourself through a free subject access request under GDPR, and they must respond within one month. Our guide on how to request CCTV footage sets out the wording. Avoid posting about the accident on social media, because insurers check public profiles. For the full set of steps once you've left, see claiming after returning home.

Keep the original photos on your phone rather than edited copies or screenshots, because the original file carries the time, date, and often the location that support your account. It also helps to keep a short day-by-day note of your symptoms and any costs. A record made while things are fresh carries more weight than memory months later.

Does your EHIC, GHIC, or travel insurance cover a claim?

No. Those cover the cost of care, not compensation. Many visitors think a travel-insurance payout or an EHIC settles everything. They sit on separate tracks, and none replaces a personal injury claim against whoever caused the accident.

You can use your card or insurance for immediate costs and still bring a claim. We explain how the two interact in travel insurance versus a claim.

What if you were in a hire car?

Treat the vehicle damage and your injury as two separate matters. First, follow the road rules above, stop, exchange details, and report to the Gardai. Then notify the rental company as your agreement requires.

The rental excess and the collision damage waiver decide who pays for the car. They have no bearing on a claim for your injury, which runs separately through the IRB. Confusing the two is a common and costly mistake. For the visitor angle on road incidents, see tourist car accidents, and for the underlying process see car accident claims.

Help on the ground: Tourist SOS

Tourist SOS is a free, confidential service for visitors in trouble. Formerly the Irish Tourist Assistance Service, it operates nationwide and supports international visitors affected by crime, accidents, or other distressing incidents. It can help you replace lost documents, arrange money transfers, contact your embassy, and make new travel arrangements if you're delayed or hospitalised. Multilingual staff are available seven days a week, and you'll find contact details in the sources below.

Two practical points before you travel home. Some injuries, such as recent surgery or certain fractures, can affect whether an airline will let you fly, so check before your departure date. If there's a language barrier, you can ask for an interpreter at the hospital or Garda station.

Once you're home: how to keep your claim alive

You can run an Irish claim from your home country. You do not need to stay in Ireland, and a solicitor can handle the steps for you. Most claims, apart from medical negligence, start with the Injuries Resolution Board before any court stage.

One point catches visitors out. An IRB application now needs a PPS number and a signature, and a tourist rarely has a PPS number. The Board's guidance lets people who never held one use a passport, driving licence, or national ID instead, as the process shows. The application also needs a 45 euro fee and a medical report, and the two-year clock keeps running until it is complete.

Tell the person or business responsible within one month of the accident, under section 8 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004. The deadline to bring a claim is generally two years less a day. For a child injured on the trip, the clock runs from their eighteenth birthday. A parent or guardian can still begin the claim now as the child's next friend, rather than waiting. Our page on time limits for tourist injury claims covers the detail, and claiming as a tourist in Ireland explains the wider process.

What most guides get wrong

Five avoidable mistakes weaken otherwise strong claims. Knowing them in advance is half the battle. First, treating an EHIC or a travel-insurance payout as the compensation, when it only covers the cost of care. Second, assuming you must call the Gardai for every accident, when a premises accident is reported to the venue instead.

Third, leaving Ireland without the report reference, which is quick to get on the day and slow to chase from abroad. Fourth, assuming it's too late once you've flown home, when the deadline is usually two years. Fifth, posting about the accident online, which hands an insurer material to question your injury.

Common questions

Key terms

Sources

1. Citizens Information. Charges for hospital services (emergency department 100 euro, injury unit 75 euro). Updated 2026, accessed June 2026. citizensinformation.ie
2. Citizens Information. Emergency health services in Ireland (ambulance is free). Accessed June 2026. citizensinformation.ie
3. Citizens Information. Motor vehicle collisions (Road Traffic Act 1961, section 106). Accessed June 2026. citizensinformation.ie
4. Citizens Information. Injuries Resolution Board (PPSN or valid ID, 45 euro fee, medical report, time limit). Accessed June 2026. citizensinformation.ie
5. HSE. Get treatment with an EHIC: visitors to Ireland. Accessed June 2026. hse.ie
6. Data Protection Commission. Access to CCTV footage (access request, one-month response, 30-day retention cycle). Accessed June 2026. dataprotection.ie
7. Irish Statute Book (Law Reform Commission, revised). Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004, section 8 (one-month letter of claim). Accessed June 2026. revisedacts.lawreform.ie
8. Irish Statute Book (revised). Road Traffic Act 1961, section 106. Accessed June 2026. revisedacts.lawreform.ie
9. Irish Statute Book. Occupiers' Liability Act 1995. Accessed June 2026. irishstatutebook.ie
10. Injuries Resolution Board. Making a claim. Accessed June 2026. injuries.ie
11. An Garda Siochana. I have been involved in a road traffic collision: what should I do? Accessed June 2026. garda.ie
12. Tourist SOS (formerly the Irish Tourist Assistance Service). Accessed June 2026. touristsos.ie
13. Law Society of Ireland. PIAB applications now require PPSN and signature (Gazette, September 2023). Accessed June 2026. lawsociety.ie

This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different and outcomes vary. Consult a qualified solicitor for advice specific to your situation. Gary Matthews Solicitors is regulated by the Law Society of Ireland, Practising Certificate No. S8178.