State ‘could save €80m a year’ on injury claims

The State could save up to €80m a year by processing personal injury claims through a non-adversarial channel like the Injuries Board, a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has heard.

The Injuries Board, an independent statutory body, makes personal compensation awards through fees charged to people who would otherwise be sued through a costly litigation process.

It deals with personal injuries claims arising from motor, workplace, and public liability incidents.

Its chief executive, Patricia Byron, told the committee that the State Claim’s Agency had about €600m to meet the cost of personal injury claims, of which around €240m, or 40%, related to litigation and associated costs.

Ms Byron said comparable costs through a non-adversarial route, such as the Injuries Board, would be around €60m.

“If all of these claims could be processed without litigation — and that’s not realistic — it would give rise to total savings or around €180m,” she said.

“However, conservatively, at least one-third of the claims, such as slips, trips and falls, in hospitals and other medical settings could be resolved through the non-adversarial route resulting in savings conservatively of €60m to €80m.”

The Injuries Board, set up in 2004, was a key element of the then government’s insurance reform programme that sought to drive down the spiralling cost of insurance. Its remit was to remove cases from unnecessary litigation and reduce processing costs for personal injury claims.

The key principle underpinning the board’s model is that early investigation and engagement prevents needless delays, cost, trauma and acrimony.

Injuries Board chairman, Dorothea Dowling, said, 10 years on, as litigation costs in other areas continued to increase, it was clear the principle had broader application. “We believe it is time to take stock and to review the potential for significant savings in other areas of redress.”

Ms Byron said vested interests had opposed the establishment of the board, claiming it would cost €30m to set up and that it would drive claims and increase insurance premiums.

“Instead the board is fully self-financing; has repaid its initial €7m establishment costs and has facilitated €1bn in savings. We cannot afford to lose this momentum.”

Ms Byron also said there was no basis for insurance price hikes at this time.