Injuries board to hear new claims from today

The new Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) will begin dealing with injury claims arising from public liability cases and…

The new Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) will begin dealing with injury claims arising from public liability cases and motor accidents from today, it has been announced.

The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, made the surprise announcement this morning.  It had not been expected that PIAB would extend its remit so soon.

From today, all personal injury claims, with the exception of cases involving medical negligence, must be referred to PIAB before legal proceedings are issued, regardless of the date of the accident.

The body began dealing with employer liability cases in June and will be making assessments of compensation awards over the coming months.  Its creation is aimed at reducing the soaring cost of compensation claims and at ultimately reducing the cost of insurance premiums.

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PIAB's role is confined to claims where legal issues are not disputed by the respondent.

Ms Harney signed the Commencement Order that allows the PIAB to extend its remit to motor claims and public liability cases, where compensation is sought for injuries.

"I am delighted that I have been able to extend PIAB's remit so soon," Ms Harney said. "I congratulate PIAB, its CEO Patricia Byron and its staff for their efficiency and the tremendous work they have done to date to enable this extension to motor and public liability cases."

PIAB is expected to offer a speedier method of delivering compensation to accident victims, while curtailing the litigation costs previously associated with such cases.

"The extension of PIAB to deal with motor and public liability is good news for consumers, businesses and society as a whole," Ms Harney said.

The Tánaiste also said that following her meeting in London yesterday with a number of major insurance companies, she believed some "new players" may be attracted into the Irish insurance market and she expected further reductions in insurance premiums would follow as a result.