Broken Nose Injury Compensation

Question:

I made a claim for broken nose injury compensation after walking into a glass door in a shop for which the shopkeeper admitted liability. However the Injuries Board assessment of how much compensation for a broken nose injury I should get seems low to me. Should I accept it?

Answer:

Without conducting an evaluation of your broken nose injury compensation claim, it is impossible to determine whether you should accept the Injuries Board´s assessment of how much compensation for a broken nose 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 broken nose 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 broken nose injury has affected your everyday life and, without knowing the how badly you may have been incapacitated by your injuries, the Injuries Board will have calculated how much compensation for broken nose you were entitled to based only on the medical facts of your broken nose injury in relation to your sex, age and general state of health prior to your accident at the shop and the broken nose injury compensation figures published in the Book of Quantum.

Your “loss of amenity” is an important factor in a broken nose 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 the injury to your nose. Due to the nature of some broken nose injuries, this factor can account for a substantial part of a broken nose injury compensation claim and it is strongly recommended that you maintain a diary to record the effect that the broken nose 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 broken nose injury occurred or during your recovery, you may also be able to include this element of your accident in your broken nose injury claim for compensation. Victims of a broken nose 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 the damage to their nerves. Furthermore, if these emotional traumas manifested after the medical examination of your broken nose 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 broken nose injury compensation.

With so many possible variables, it is easy to understand why no two broken nose injury claims for compensation are the same and why you may believe that the Injuries Board´s assessment of your broken nose injury compensation claim is low. It could be possible that your perception of how much compensation for a broken nose 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 broken nose 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 broken nose injury or represents adequate broken nose injury compensation.

As the Injuries Board Ireland has already issued its assessment of your broken nose injury compensation claim, it is recommended that you speak with a broken nose injury claims solicitor at the first practical opportunity. Once you have discussed the circumstances of your broken nose injury at the shop 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 broken nose injury claim or to pursue your entitlement to broken nose injury compensation through other channels.