InjuriesBoard.ie Publishes Review of 2008
- €217m awarded to 8,845 claimants
- Board assesses increased number of serious injury claims
Compensation totalling €217million was awarded in respect of 8,845 personal injury claimants in 2008 according to preliminary year-end data from InjuriesBoard.ie (formerly the Personal Injuries Assessment Board).
The significant trend from the profile of awards made in 2008 is that the volume of high value claims (typically associated with complex or serious personal injuries) is increasing - in line with service enhancements and increased public confidence in the Board.
This trend further reduces claims processing costs - which has resulted in savings of between €200m and €250m to the economy since mid 2004.
Commenting, Ms Patricia Byron, Chief Executive, InjuriesBoard.ie said: "Evidence available to the Board suggests that as confidence in our non-adversarial model grows, a greater number of the more serious or complex injuries are assessed by us."
2008 Claims Analysis:
A review of 2008 data shows that the amount of money awarded on claims above €38,000* rose from a quarter of all awards in 2007 to a third in 2008. This rise was largely driven by an increase in the number of high value awards (see Table 1) typically associated with complex or serious personal injuries.
The number of claims in the sub €38,000 range, which are typically soft tissue/minor bone injuries, rose by a modest 4% in 2008. In contrast, the number of awards associated with more serious cases - over €38,000 range - rose by 47%, with the number of awards over €100,000 rising by 87%. (see Table 2)
The average value of awards under €38,000 rose by 3.1% while those over €38,000 rose on average by 4.7% (see Table 3). The combined impact of these increases and the delivery of more high value assessments has been to increase the overall average award from €22,054 to €24,552
A number of case studies of awards over €100,000 made by InjuriesBoard.ie in 2008 are set out below.
2008 Cumulative Savings Analysis:
Patricia Byron said that InjuriesBoard.ie has continued to fulfill its mission to deliver personal injuries claims fairly, promptly and transparently. "We have now made over 23,500 awards since we opened our doors in 2004, amounting to almost €530m in compensation. By delivering these awards four times faster and with a low administration charge, the InjuriesBoard.ie model has delivered direct and indirect savings of between €200m and €250m to the economy. At a time when the country is facing enormous challenges, the need to maintain and, if possible, expand these savings was never greater".
Claims Volumes
"Some insurers have commented recently on a surge of personal injury claims due to the recession. From our point of view, it is simply too early to draw the same conclusion. The pace of increase in claims has reduced from 10% in 2006 / 2007 to 6% in 2007 / 2008 - a trend that is more indicative of a levelling off than a spike in volumes. To date in 2009, we have no evidence of an increase in claims volumes" Ms Byron added.
Supreme Court Judgement: (re: correspondence with claimants)
In a judgement delivered on 19 December 2008 the Supreme Court clarified the issue of communication between the Board and claimants who engaged a solicitor. It gave InjuriesBoard.ie the green light to copy these claimants with correspondence so that they could be kept informed of the progress of their personal injuries claim.
"This is a very significant and welcome development and we are now copying claimants with key correspondence in line with the Supreme Court's decision" Ms Byron said. In a Lansdowne Market Research survey conducted for the Board in September 2008, 74% of those questioned said that they would like the option of being kept up to date on the status of their claim by InjuriesBoard.ie, even if they were using a solicitor.
Ends Monday, 9th March 2009
For reference:
InjuriesBoard.ie
Gerry Naughton 01 4634565 / 086 803 2891
*Footnote: the upper limit on cases dealt with in the Circuit Court
Note for Editors: