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Updated at 3pm
NEW FIGURES HAVE shown that the average compensation award for an accident in the first six months of this year came to €22,375.
This is an increase of €293 from €22,082 in the same period last year.
There has also been an increase in the number of people who have put in new claims to the board, rising from 15,987 to 17,132.
This increase in claims has been put down to greater numbers of people returning to work.
An issue raised by the Injuries Board was a disproportionate increase in insurance premiums compared with the relatively small rise in the number of successful claims.
Many customers have experienced double-digit rises this year.
The Injuries Board is a government operated body that was set up to assess claims for compensation for anyone involved in an accident or who has suffered an injury.
How big has the increase been?
While there was a rise in the total number of new claims and the average amount paid out, the overall value of compensation decreased from €146.8 million paid to 6,552 individuals last year to €128.45 million paid to 5,741 personal injury claimants in the first six months of this year.
The majority of awards were paid out for road traffic accidents, with them accounting for more than 75% of the total.
16.3% of awards were for accidents in public place and 7.8% were for workplace accidents.
The board estimates that it creates average annual savings of €100 million over what would be paid out if claims were pursued through the courts.
Response
Speaking about the new figures, Maurice Priestley, interim CEO of the Injuries Board, said, “It is not surprising that there has been a modest increase in claims volumes this year to date given the general economic upturn with more people at work and a lot more vehicles on the road.
However, what we are seeing are insurance premiums increases in the region of 20% and further clarity is needed on the precise cause of increases of this scale.
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I’d say a lot of people got 20 grand just for not paying attention to what they’re doing or where they’re going.
It’s a better system than clogging up the courts. I know of 2 people that went and got over 30k each. One was easily justified, the other wasn’t at all (unless they weren’t telling me the full story).
I had a bad fall on a shoddy public footpath last year, had 7 staples in the back of my head as a result. Some people thought I was mad not to put in a claim – ” Sure you’d get €1000 per staple” etc, etc but others told me I’d have no luck for it as it wasn’t exactly a life-altering injury, albeit traumatic at the time. I went with the latter and decided not to pursue it. I think compensation should be reserved for those who have genuinely suffered life changing injuries, not temporary ones like mine. Ultimately, we all end up paying for the bogus or frivilous claim payouts in our insurance rates.
Fon, did you lose earnings? Did you have to pay your own medical expenses?
For many people an accident means time off work, generally unpaid and even now the first 3 days is unpaid by SW. Many workers don’t have a medical card and can’t afford private insurance.
Not many people are lucky enough to be in your position – able to take these costs and losses.
Your decision is your business – mind you I certainly hope you reported the shoddy footpath – maybe the next time it could be a pensioner – they may not be so lucky,
The lad in the photo wears a hard hat climbing a small step ladder and still ends up hurt.Ronaldos painter cousin.
The ambulance chasers are making a killing
Ha! You got that right. Look at what this judge had to say in a recent landmark case on Roma and Travellers teaming up for widespread insurance fraud – http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/circuit-court/judge-claims-roma-working-with-travellers-in-insurance-scams-1.2277545
Very interesting comments by the judge.
I see he got the lads to throw the hard hat out after he fell…. nice….
What % of claims that failed to get anything is what i want to know. What is the success rate for a claim.
i work for an insurance company here in the UK.. it’s about 85% monthly, cases where we have to pay out for injuries, and about 70% of those are bogus, but it’s something that cannot be fully proven.
Can anyone answer me this?
If someone is found to have lodged a fraudulent personal injury claim, are they then charged with fraud or is their claim just rejected?
Probably depends on the cope of the fraud itself. It would certainly be rejected, but I haven’t heard of any prosecutions taken by the injury board itself for fraudulent claims.
That’s interesting. So there is no real deterrent for making fraudulent claims. Maybe there should be?
Usually its just rejected. Burden of proof in a civil case (like insurance claim) is “balance of probabilities”, but to prosecute it requires the higher burden of a criminal case “beyond reasonable doubt”. Not worth the money for an insurance company to pursue.
Also, Injuries Board dont look at liability, they just value the injury, so they wouldnt be the ones to bring the case to the courts for fraud, it lies with the insurance company.
Yep – Injuries board kick in when there’s no dispute to liability, they assess how much is to be paid for the injury. If there’s a dispute…it’s off to court.
I knew I should’ve slipped on that puddle on the floor in lido last night. Wonder if it’s still there?
Personal injury payouts in this country are multiples of everywhere else.
Spot on. I heard an expert guy on the radio recently who placed the blame on the high award levels. Whiplash, (the most common claim in motor insurance) is 3 times the payout level here than it is in the UK. Premiums are therefore higher of course.
or it cold be that were all looking at our phones and not paying attention to what we are doing.. Suprised the insurance company’s don’t put a premium on people who have smart phones…
it all makes sense now saw the council round my way yesterday checking for trip hazards on the footpaths
have your say