The Injuries Board

The Injuries Board is an independent statutory body that was set up under the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003. The effect of this dictates that each personal injury case that occurs within the Republic of Ireland must be submitted to the Injuries Board who will then assess the claim.

The outcome of your case from the Injuries Board can only go two different ways. Firstly, if the Respondent in the matter allows the Injuries Board to assess the claim, then the Injuries Board will take a number of months to examine all the medical evidence provided such as medical reports, medical records, Garda reports etc. Furthermore, they will appoint a Doctor to personally examine you to provide them with a greater insight into the extent of your injuries sustained from the accident. After this has been carried out, the Injuries Board will award the Claimant a figure for compensation which can either be accepted or rejected depending on the advice of your solicitor and your own personal opinion. If the decision is to decline the Injuries Board’s assessment figure, then they will issue you with an Authorisation letter which allows you to pursue the case through the Courts.
When the Injuries Board makes an assessment, the Claimant has 28 days to either accept or reject the offer. If you simply do not reply within the specified time frame, it will be deemed that you have rejected the offer and you will receive an Authorisation letter. Similarly, the Respondent also must accept or reject the offer but has only 21 days to make a decision. Therefore, if the Claimant accepts the offer but the Respondent wishes to reject it, then the case will move forward to Court, regardless of your views.
Conversely, if the Respondent dissents against the Injuries Board assessing the case, then they will automatically issue an Authorisation letter as discussed above, which will then instigate the Court Proceedings.