I have a question about beat knee injury compensation. My mother worked as a cleaner for 25 years until she retired five years ago. She has just been diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee due to the work she did. Is it too late to claim compensation for a beat knee injury?
Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor
Editor in Chief
Question:
I have a question about beat knee injury compensation. My mother worked as a cleaner for 25 years until she retired five years ago. She has just been diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee due to the work she did. Is it too late to claim compensation for a beat knee injury?
Answer:
Under the Statute of Limitations in Ireland, a claim for beat knee injury compensation has to be made within two years of the injury being diagnosed rather than when it was physically sustained. This “date of knowledge” as it is known is the reason why claims for degenerative conditions can be made many years after an injury has developed and, in your mother´s case, would enable her to recover compensation even though she has not worked as a cleaner for five years.
The standard process for making a claim for beat knee injury compensation is to submit an application for assessment to the Injuries Board Ireland, advising the Injuries Board of the name and address of her former employer and details of her injury. The claim for beat knee injury compensation has to be accompanied by a form from your mother´s doctor explaining the severity and extent of the beat knee injury. You may also wish to include a covering letter explaining any deterioration in your mother´s quality of life which is attributable to her condition.
The Injuries Board Ireland will write to your mother´s former employees and ask for confirmation that they accept liability for the beat knee injury and then arrange for an independent medical examination to confirm the doctor´s diagnosis. Once these procedures are completed, the Injuries Board Ireland will calculate how much compensation for a beat knee injury your mother should receive and write to both your mother and her former employers with their conclusion.
Provided that your mother and her former employers agree on the amount of compensation for a beat knee injury assessed by the Injuries Board, the Injuries Board will then issue an “Order to Pay” which your mother´s former employers will pass on to their insurance company who will send your mother a cheque. Should there be any disagreement about how much compensation for a beat knee injury your mother is entitled to, the Injuries Board Ireland will issue your mother with an authorisation to pursue her beat knee injury compensation claim through the courts if she so wishes.
The process from start to finish takes between six to nine months and can result in your mother receiving sufficient beat knee injury compensation to pay for the latest treatments and professional physiotherapy – easing the pain she experiences and providing her with a better quality of life. In order that your mother receives sufficient compensation for a beat knee injury to afford the very best treatments available, it is recommended that you engage the services of a personal injury solicitor to ensure that every aspect of your mother´s condition is included in her claim for beat knee injury compensation.