Legal aid from insurer

Hi, I was involved in an accident last November where the passenger from the other car was injured and taken to hospital. I was turning right at a junction and never saw realised there was a car coming towards me that had the right of way. I am 26, have been driving since I was 20 and have had no previous convictions or points.

I received a court summons for this. I'm finding it hard to believe why the incident has gone that far. The summons description details that both cars were not travelling at great speed, my alcohol reading was 0 and the person who was injured was released that night with treatment for back pain.

The charge is driving without due care and attention and although I was paying attention to the road I had a lapse in concentration and admittedly caused the accident which I said to the police as well as the insurance companies. As far as I am concerned it was simply an accident.

My initial reaction was to plead guilty to the charge by post and get it over and done with but the maximum charge is 9 points and a hefty fine. I was thinking about getting legal aid as I had this on my insurance. Although the claim has been settled, would applying for legal aid incur a new claim or would the previous claim be re-opened as it was part of the same accident?

Any further advice would be much appreciated.