OVER TEN THOUSAND awards, including a record €1.3 million payout, saw the Injuries Board award over €243.5 million last year.
According to the board’s annual review, the total value of the was an increase of 11.7% on the €218m awarded in 2012.
As the numbers of accidents remains largely unchanged, they have put the increase down to the use of a non-adversarial process and the delivery of a ”number of exceptionally high value awards”.
The number of new claims received increased by 5.8% last year, driven by an 8.2% increase in motor claims.
The Injuries Board assesses personal injury claims and makes awards relating to motor, employer and public liability accidents, without the need for litigation.
The report claims this system has saved over €72 million by avoiding litigation costs, as well as being handled in around 9 months, saving over two years on typical litigation. The report says that the overall saving achieved by the Injuries Board since its establishment is over €1 billion.
Patricia Byron, CEO of the Injuries Board said that people across the board had felt the benefit of the board.
“I am pleased that as a self funding agency, the board has delivered cumulative savings of €1bn on the cost of handling personal injury claims with no cost to the exchequer and at considerable benefit to insurance policy holders.”
Those in Limerick, Longford, Louth, Dublin and Carlow are most likely to receive an award, while Kilkenny, Wicklow, Wexford, Leitrim and Roscommon are the least likely.
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