Key Post Making a claim for personal injuries through the Injuries Board (PIAB)

Re: What to do if you are injured in an accident

Brendan said:
How are you going to respond to the offer? Have you used the Injuries Board Estimator? Are you happy to negotiate directly with them?
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I have responded to the insurers only today to decline the offer. I have used the estimator and the sum I was offered was no where near what the estimator recommends. I know you cant rely on this heavily but even as a guide, they offered me only one third of the figure on the estimator.

Since my injury is still ongoing I am not willing to settle at this time. To date I have incurred costs of approximately €2k, and I will be incurring more costs into the future.

Regarding the cost of the medical report being prohibitive to some lay litigants, I have had experience of some solicitors asking clients to pay for reports up front. Also just because someone is a lay litigant, does not mean they do not have the means to pay for reports. ( Am I a lay litigant?)

The next step in this process for me would be to attend an independant medical assessment. I just have to wait for notification to attend.

AN
 
Re: What to do if you are injured in an accident


If you are not happy with the PIAB amount and decide to go to court, there is no guarantee that you will get more compensation or even that you will be awarded the same amount the PIAB offered.

If a case goes to court, all the evidence will have to be presented to the court and the court will make its decision based on the circumstances put before it. I will not have any regard to previous amounts awarded by the PIAB - it will make an independent decision on the compensation.

Yes, sometimes a court may award more, but in some instances the court will award less than the PIAB originally awarded. If you take a case to court, you lose your entitlement to the PIAB award - you cannot revert to claiming this amount if the court awards less.

Purely speculation on my part - but I think the fact that the court hearing is usually more detailed and considers the persons personal circumstances more thoroughly means that you are likely to get more variation among court awards. The PIAB appears to depend on the Book of Quantum which is quite a rigid formula for settling cases.

I am aware of a couple of cases where PIAB has been rejected and the individual was awarded less in court.
 
Re: What to do if you are injured in an accident

I am aware of a couple of cases where PIAB has been rejected and the individual was awarded less in court.
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There is also a chance the claimant will be hit for costs also.
 
I only applied a few weeks ago and already I have had an offer from the Insurance Co.
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Its not a complicated matter as far as I can see
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,

I have an ongoing injury that requires physio and also causes alot of discomfort
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.

Im happy to go straight to Injuries Board and not use a Solicitor but if it were a more complicated matter I would think again.
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This is a good example of someone who should have gone to a solicitor to process their PIAB claim. The problem most lay claimants have is that they are extremely disadvantaged when dealing with Insurance Companies. The claims handlers in the insurance companies and their reps on the ground are settling claims regularly. Their ultimate aim is to achieve a settlement for as little as possible.

The problem with a case like the above is that the claimant will be offerred a sum of money by the insurance company very early. This is very tempting for the claimant as it has taken very little effort to get it and there are no legal fees to pay. The extent of the injuries are not yet known. The claimant settles for a sum of money which would be offerred in the presumption that injuries would clear up within the near future. Unfortunatley for some people injuries from accidents can result in long term problems. The compensation received may not be anywhere near what the claimant should have received had s/he waited and process the claim through a solicitor who would have taken the time to assess the injuries and continue to update the medical reports before settling the claim.

Claimants should be very cautious in assessing their injuries based on medical reports. This may seem quite a silly thing to say but in my experience Doctors and Consultants are the most optimistic people when it comes to determining your prognosis. I have handled quite a few cases where the Doctor/Consultant has said that injuries should heal within a year and two or three years later they are still saying the same thing. Everyone's body heals differently. The experts can only give an educated guess. Unfortunately if they guess wrong for you and you settle your claim based on this it could cost you a serious amount of money.
 
Also get medical advice in writing. Doctors/Physio's have a habit of saying something verbally, then forgetting what they said when queried later. Which is fair enough they are busy. The point is get it in writing.
 

You are forgetting the key point made by Asknicely

Im happy to go straight to Injuries Board and not use a Solicitor but if it were a more complicated matter I would think again.
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For many people, using a solicitor turns out to be a long frustrating process of calls not being returned. In many cases, they simply make the problem worse.

If it's a simple injury, then go to the InjuriesBoard.

If the outcome is not clear, wait until it is clearer before going to the InjuriesBoard or else reject the claim if it's not high enough.
 
To "Moderator":

1. I disagree with your advice to engage with PIAB without the services of a Solicitor. There are many legal and practical reasons for this including the statue of limitations, seeking redress against the incorrect Respondents or not including the potentially liable Respondents, lack of knowledge of the value of general damages etc. However it is up to any individual to make the decision to engage a Solicitor.

2. However more particularly I take issue with your biased involvement in debate. This is not appropriate for a moderator.
 
Injuries Board

Hi people first of all can I say that this thread is very helpful. I was involved in a accident on march 19th of this year I got rear ended twice by the same car how I have no idea all i know is my back and neck was hurt and i am still getting pyshio and pain killers because of this. I actually went to a solictor as i would not be the most clever person around anyway i got a letter from injuriesboard saying they have recived my claim now I have been off work since and I am down 10k approx from this. My injuries are moderate whiplash injuries to my back and neck. So i think injuries board estamator is a bit confusing can anyone tell me roughfully what i can expect. If not i thank you for a great help this thread has being regarding other question i had regarding the process . Sorry for the miss spelling !!
 
Just on a quick note, if one was to make a claim, must they notify the liable insurance company or the Injuries Board first?
 
If someone was making a (very genuine) claim for whiplash, involving an uninsured drunk-driver, would there be any advantage to using a solicitor or would the be better to just deal directly with the Injuries Board and the MiBi?

I notice that Brendan suggests that a solicitor should be used if the case involves the MiBi. Any reason for that? Do the MiBi not just act like an insurance company is cases like this?
 
Sorry to drag this up again. Has anyone had difficulty dealing with the MIBI via the Injuries Board without a solicitor?
I have a moderate claim to lodge with the MIBI. The other driver didn’t leave the scene, was arrested and has since been dealt with by the courts. To me it looks like a fairly straightforward case, and I don’t know if I want the hassle or expense of a solicitor in dealing with all this.

Any thoughts?
 
JohnJay hire a solicitor if you don't wish to get shafted. PIAB (injuries Board) and the MIBI are creatures of the insurance industry. They have vested interests and you're not one of them.

You win your case you win your legal costs too. PIAB costs are not recoverable but you can negotiate this with your solicitor, some solicitors don't charge for the PIAB process, they recover on a party/party basis and that can be sufficient.
 
There is a solicitor at Leixlip Community Centre who holds free consultations each Wednesday [?] he has been invaluable to us in presenting our case.
 
I am having a nightmare with my gp to provide a medical report. 6 months waiting, still no report, constant phone calls, visits, and assurances he will complete in a couple of weeks. My solicitor has wrote to him on several occasions without reply. Is there any action I can take to demand my own personal medical report?
 
Can anyone tell me what is a fair amount to be offered in an early settlement for a whiplash case, i feel the insurance company are really lowballing me
 
Not enough information at all here. How long were you out of work, what medical treatment did you require, what is the medical prognosis? It could be anywhere from €1500 to €75K.
 
Ravima said:
Not enough information at all here. How long were you out of work, what medical treatment did you require, what is the medical prognosis? It could be anywhere from €1500 to €75K.
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Hi Ravima , I was rear ended and had to take two weeks off, plus doctors bills. I was diagnosed with whiplash by a GP six weeks later still getting pains cant enjoy running and had missed out on loads of summer activitys with the kids. I know this seems fairly tame but im still struggling to sleep some nights and it affects my concentration and mood. Anyway just on loss of earnings doctors and presciption im down 2k the insurance company have offered 6k to include pain suffering and loss of earnings. In your opinion does this seem like a fair amount?
 
how long is a piece of string? Every case is different, as whilst we are all the same (humans) we are all different (individuals). Injuries affect people differently. For example, a broken finger on a concert pianist is a more serious injury than if suffered by an obese couch potato who spends the day (and night) watching TV!
 
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