Injuries Board awards fall sharply

26 January 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.

Follow us for the latest updates & news

Recent News

Northern Ireland exam board boss wins £100,000 settlement

Northern Ireland’s Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) has paid a substantial settlement to its former interim chief executive who complained of sex, race and age discrimination and constructive dismissal. The sum paid to Margaret Farragher,...

Catriona Crumlish v Health Service Executive – Court of Appeal

On Oct. 15th, The Court of Appeal upheld the High Court decision against Caitriona Crumlish in her claim against Letterkenny University hospital. The plaintiff alleged that there was a failure to detect and diagnose breast cancer in May 2017 resulting in an alleged...

Recent Articles

Psychological Injury

Nervous Shock I The law allows recovery of damages for so called nervous shock, within certain parameters and subject to limitations.  Nervous shock is the most commonly used legal label for psychiatric or psychological injury. Psychiatric injuries include...

Public Authorities and Negligence

Powers and Duties In broad terms, public authorities are subject to civil liability for negligence and other civil wrongs, in the same way as private individuals and companies.  The State and other public bodies are responsible for the actions and omissions of...

Duty of Care (Part 2)

Limits to Neighbour Principle The famous neighbour principle re-stated the general basis of liability in negligence. It stated, that “you must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your...

Duty of Care (Part 1)

Meaning of Negligence I Negligence is used in a number of senses.  In one sense, it refers to a person’s state of mind.  An act is negligent, where it is done without giving due weight to the risks involved.  A person  (and his state of mind) may...

Join our Panel

You May Also Like...