Electric Shock Injury Compensation

I made a claim for electric shock injury compensation after an accident at work for which my employer admitted liability. However the Injuries Board assessment of how much compensation for a electric shock injury I should get seems low to me. Should I accept it?

Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor

Editor in Chief

Eoin P. Campbell

Question:

I made a claim for electric shock injury compensation after an accident at work for which my employer admitted liability. However the Injuries Board assessment of how much compensation for a electric shock injury I should get seems low to me. Should I accept it?

Answer:

Without conducting an evaluation of your electric shock injury compensation claim, it is impossible to determine whether you should accept the Injuries Board´s assessment of how much compensation for a electric shock injury you should receive or not. The Injuries Board will have made their calculations based on the information you provided them when you submitted your electric shock injury compensation claim and the independent medical examination you underwent.

Admittedly, there is no dedicated area on either the online application or the hard copy of Application Form A for you to expand on how the electric shock injury has affected your everyday life and, without knowing the how badly you may have been incapacitated by your electric shock injury, the Injuries Board will have calculated how much compensation for a electric shock injury you were entitled to based only on the medical facts of your electric shock injury in relation to your sex, age and general state of health prior to your accident at work and the electric shock injury compensation figures published in the Book of Quantum.

Your “loss of amenity” is an important factor in a electric shock injury claim should you be unable to complete day-to-day tasks or if your enjoyment of leisure and social pursuits has suffered because of your injuries. Due to the nature of some electric shock injuries, this factor can account for a substantial part of a electric shock injury compensation claim and it is strongly recommended that you maintain a diary to record the effect that your injured electric shock has on your daily quality of life.

If you have suffered any form of negative effect on your emotional well-being due to how your work electric shock injury occurred or during your recovery, you may also be able to include this element of your accident in your electric shock injury claim for compensation. Victims of a electric shock injury may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder if their injury occurred in a particularly violent accident, or become anxious and depressed during their recovery from an injury due to an electric shock. Furthermore, if these emotional traumas manifested after the medical examination of your electric shock injury had taken place, they would have been omitted from the information communicated to the Injuries Board and left out of the Injuries Board´s assessment of your claim for electric shock injury compensation.

With so many possible variables, it is easy to understand why no two electric shock injury claims for compensation are the same and why you may believe that the Injuries Board´s assessment of your electric shock injury compensation claim is low. It could be possible that your perception of how much compensation for a electric shock injury you should be entitled to is based upon what you have heard or read but, unless you undergo an evaluation of your injury and its consequences with an experienced electric shock injury claims solicitor, it is unlikely that you will ever be certain that the assessment conducted by the Injuries Board reflects the true extent of your electric shock injury or represents adequate electric shock injury compensation.

As the Injuries Board Ireland has already issued its assessment of your electric shock injury compensation claim, it is recommended that you speak with a electric shock injury claims solicitor at the first practical opportunity. Once you have discussed the circumstances of your electric shock injury at work and the consequences that the injury has had on your quality of life, your solicitor will advise you whether to accept the Injury Board Ireland´s assessment of your electric shock injury claim or to pursue your entitlement to electric shock injury compensation through other channels.