Claims Ireland

Injuries Board awards fall sharply

26-Jan-2010

Compensation totalling €200 million was awarded in respect of 8,645 personal injury claimants last year, according to preliminary end of year data from the body that assesses claims for personal injuries.

Nearly three quarters of awards (72 per cent) were for injuries from road traffic collisions while the remainder were split between workplace (11 per cent) and public space (17 per cent) incidents, according to InjuriesBoard.ie

The board said workplace injury claims were down by 6.5 per cent due to less people at work, while motor claims and public liability claims increased by 7.5 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively.

The average compensation award was €23,163, with the highest single award totalling €493,902, according to the data.

The average workplace award was €32,000 in 2009, almost 48 per cent higher than motor awards which averaged €21,800.

Commenting on the figures, Patricia Byron, chief executive of InjuresBoard.ie, said the volume of new motor and public liability claims increased in the last quarter of 2009, adding "there is little evidence yet of a sustained surge in personal injury claims arising from the recession, as some had forecast".

Ms Byron said that there had been no rise in claims arising from the adverse weather conditions at the end of 2009 and in the first half of January 2010.

"Despite the high number of injuries sustained from trips and falls in recent weeks, the expectation is that few will result in claims as compensation would only arise if the injury arose from negligence by another party," she said.