Injuries board cannot refuse to deal with solicitors

THE Supreme Court has ruled that the Personal Injuries Assessment Board cannot force a person to deal with it directly because everyone has a fundamental right to be represented by a solicitor.

The board has no power under the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act of 2003 to adopt such a policy and, if claimants choose to hire solicitors, the board must deal with those solicitors, Justice Susan Denham said.

The right to legal representation is “a fundamental right” and, if the Oireachtas intended PIAB to be “a lawyer-free zone”, it would have said so, she added.