3,000 compo claims lodged with new board

MORE THAN 3,000 compensation claims have been lodged with the Personal Injuries Assessment Board since it was set-up six months ago.

The independent assessment board, set up last year on the basis it would deliver a low-cost and more efficient response to personal injury claims, said yesterday its claims’ process is ahead of schedule.

The fast-track system is expected to reduce the waiting time for settlements to around six to nine months. The average waiting time for cases to be resolved through the courts is four years.

Chief executive Patricia Byron said the first claims’ settlements will be announced before a planned initial deadline of March.

“The timelines set by PIAB were very ambitious but we are very pleased that we have achieved all our targets.”

However, the Law Society’s director general Ken Murphy said the number of claims being processed by PIAB was remarkably low.

“In the documents under which preparations were made to establish PIAB, the impression was given it would operate on the basis of handling 27,000 injury claims annually. Just over 3,000 is an astonishingly low figure,” he said.

Mr Murphy said: “The reason the Law Society believes the number of cases is so low is that the PIAB process is user-unfriendly.

“The process PIAB employs is complex and difficult and we continue to believe it would be a very foolish accident victim to process a case without a solicitor.”

The main breakdown for the 3,084 recorded claims is:

employer liability, 935

motor liability, 1,231

public liability, 907

However, Ms Byron said: “We are very much on track and this was evident from the positive response from a wide range of representative bodies such as ICTU, IBEC and IFSRA.

“The timelines were very ambitious but we achieved all our targets.

“PIAB will meet all its expectations with our first awards due in this current quarter. This will show our system processes claims considerably faster than heretofore and removes a significant amount of the previously associated litigation costs for the delivery of compensation awards.”

Ms Byron also emphasised that PIAB awards will reflect the current level of court awards. According to PIAB, litigation costs are estimated at 46% on top of the actual compensation payment.

Meanwhile, a High Court judgment on a judicial review mounted against the policies of PIAB is due this month.

A Tullamore, Co Offaly, meat plant worker, seeking damages for an accident, challenged the policy of the PIAB to deal directly with him rather than his solicitor.

The Law Society is also a party to the proceedings, on an issue of whether the injuries assessment board was entitled to disregard the written authorisation of applicants to communicate with their solicitors.

The society claims the issues goes to the heart of the solicitor-client relationship and the ability of solicitors to represent their clients.