The Injuries Resolution Board (IRB) has seen a 10% increase in claims made to it during 2023, resulting in €170m being paid out in personal injury awards, new reports show.
According to the latest annual report from the IRB, formerly known as the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, there were over 20,000 claim applications submitted to them last year with the majority, over 11,500, being motor injury claims.
A further 4,795 were public liability claims, 3,666 were employer liability claims, and 255 were Garda compensation claims. However, despite this increase in claims, the IRB said they are still 35% lower than they were in 2019.
The total value of awards through IRB’s process came to €170m — an increase from €141m in 2022 but well below the €275m recorded in 2019. There were over 9,100 assessments for compensation made last year, the majority of which, 6,230, were motor liability awards.
As a result of this process — which helps avoid costly litigation through the courts — the IRB said it saved people a combined €75m. The board also reached a record level of engagement with 71% of respondents consenting to an assessment.
Following the assessment for compensation, the parties to the case have 28 days to indicate whether they accept or reject the award. During 2023, the IRB saw its highest acceptance rate of 48% since the introduction of the revised Personal Injuries Guidelines.
In April 2021, new personal injury guidelines were introduced aimed at reducing the size of pay-outs.
In April this year, the Supreme Court upheld the Personal Injuries Guidelines as legally binding and constitutional. The IRB said it is “anticipated that acceptance rates will continue to rise”.
Chief executive of the IRB, Rosalind Carroll, said the impact of the introduction of the guidelines can be seen in their data.
“It is important when looking at changes in claims values in Ireland, not just to focus on average awards values but the decline in the number of claims being made, with total claim volumes remaining 35% lower than in 2019 and the total value of compensation awards now €105 million lower than 2019,” she said.
If you would like an assessment of a claim, you can use the online form available here without obligation or alternatively you can use the automatic claim calculator.
