One-third of claimants reject State board awards

One in three personal injury claimants rejected the award made to them last year by the body set up by the Government to handle claims instead of the courts.

With the vast majority of applicants continuing to use solicitors in their dealings with the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (Piab), consumer resistance to the body remains high.

However, Piab, in a review of its performance last year, says it is saving €40 million a year in handling claims compared to the old courts system. It also says awards are being made at the same level as under the old courts system but four times faster and with a delivery cost that is 70 per cent cheaper.

The acceptance rate for Piab awards increased from 60 to 65 per cent last year after legislation made it harder to recoup court costs in subsequent legal actions.

The average award last year was €22,057, but this figure conceals a wide variation, from the largest award, for €620,000, to the smallest, for €1,000.

The total value of awards made was €181 million, up 56 per cent from €115 million in 2006. The average time to assess a claim is said to be under seven months, compared to three years under the courts system.

For the first time, the board has released a county-by-county breakdown of the number of awards made; this shows that people in Limerick and Louth were most likely to receive an award from Piab, with the number of awards in both cases more than 50 per cent above the national average. Kilkenny, at 42 per cent below the average, and Clare and Mayo, both 34 per cent below the average, were the counties with the lowest number of awards relative to population.

The board was set up in 2004 as part of the Government's reform programme to tackle the high costs, especially legal costs, associated with personal injury claims. Claimants complete an application form and pay a €50 fee and decisions are based on medical reports.

"During 2007, Piab reached full flow activity and the sustainable benefits of the non-adversarial model are now clear," commented chief executive Patricia Byron.

"Piab is not just faster and more efficient but claimants benefit from awards at the same level as the courts while avoiding the stress of a court appearance. This is not to be underestimated."

However, Stuart Gilhooly of the Law Society said Piab dealt with only 30 per cent of all claims, with the rest being settled independently or going forward to court because liability was denied.

Many of the awards that were rejected by claimants were later bettered in court, he claimed.