The Annual Report from the Injuries Board has revealed a greater awareness among citizens of their right to claim injury compensation from a negligent party.
The report, published on the injuriesboardie web site, showed that applications for assessment submitted to the Injuries Board had risen 4.7 percent in 2012 to 28,962 (excluding claims for DePuy Hip Replacement Compensation); mostly driven by a significant rise in the number of claims for injury compensation following a road traffic accident (up 6.7 percent on 2011).
Just under 35 percent of the assessments made by the Injuries Board were accepted by claimants (10,136) with the average award value being €21,502 and 75 percent of those being for road traffic injury compensation claims.
Work injuries accounted for 8 percent of accepted Injuries Board assessments, while people injured in a place of public access made up the remainder of those exercising their right to claim injury compensation when they have been hurt in an accident for which they were not to blame.
In a press release accompanying the publication of the 2012 Annual Report, Patricia Byron – CEO of the Injuries Board – commented “The steady but consistent increase in claims volumes over the past five years is a real concern at a time when our roads have never been safer and we have fewer people at work”.
Ms Byron also expressed concern that there was an “emerging claims culture” which, she hoped, would be addressed in Justice Minister Alan Shatter’s forthcoming Legal Services Bill, which is due to be debated this summer.