Personal injury claims soar to €217m

THE amount of money paid out to personal injury victims soared to €217 million last year.

InjuriesBoard.ie, formerly the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB), revealed 8,845 claimants received compensation payouts last year based on its assessments, an increase of more than 600 people compared with the figure for 2007.

The number of payouts made for sums in excess of e38,000 — the upper limit on cases dealt with in the Circuit Court, although higher awards can be made in other courts — also soared last year by 47%, while the number of awards for amounts over e100,000 climbed by 87%.