An Introduction to Injury Compensation Amounts in Ireland
Injury compensation amounts in Ireland are often perceived to be based on the Book of Quantum – a publication that can be accessed through the Injuries Board web site, which lists a variety of physical injuries and assigns a financial value to them according to their severity and the length of time it may take for the victim to recover.
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However, although the Book of Quantum is frequently updated, it makes no allowance for the age, gender or previous physical condition of an accident victim, provides no information on psychological damage – which experts agree occurs to a degree in all physical accidents – and makes no consideration for the impact on a person´s life the injury may have.
No Two Injury Compensation Claims Are Identical
Inasmuch as the Book of Quantum attempts to achieve the impossible by giving a wide range of possible injury compensation amounts in Ireland, compensation settlements are comprised of four main elements:-
- Physical Damages
- Psychological Damages
- Loss of Amenity
- Special Damages
Physical Damages address the pain and suffering a victim has experienced – whether it was during an accident, during the victim´s recovery or while a physical condition was developing over a period of time (such as with a claim for work related diseases).
Psychological Damages deal with the emotional aspect of the compensation claim – whether the victim developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after a physical injury or become depressed and anxious due to long periods of immobility during their recovery.
Loss of Amenity refers to the deterioration in a person´s quality of life during their recovery, or permanently if a recovery is not made. Compensation for loss of amenity applies to activities that a victim would normally participate in, but are unable to because of their injury.
Special Damages aim to return a person´s financial state to that which it was before an accident occurred or illness was diagnosed. Special damages account for all the quantifiable expenses a victim has incurred which are directly attributable to their injury.
With four main variables, it is possible to understand why no two injury compensation claims are identical, and why different injury compensation settlements in Ireland could be made to claimants who have sustained similar injuries.
How Contributory Negligence Affects Injury Compensation Amounts in Ireland
Contributory negligence is where more than one party is responsible for an injury or the extent of an injury. Many settlements of injury compensation in Ireland have an element of contributory negligence – whether it is because two negligent car drivers contributed to a road traffic accident occurring or because the victim in the road traffic accident contributed to their injuries by failing to wear a seatbelt.
In most cases where two or more parties contributed to causing an accident, settlement of injury compensation in Ireland are usually just delayed while the two (or more) negligent parties negotiate their share of the blame. However, when the victim himself has contributed to his injuries, either directly (such as by not wearing a seatbelt) or indirectly (by not seeking immediate medical attention and exacerbating their injury), injury compensation amounts in Ireland can be significantly reduced to account for the victim´s own contributory negligence.
Injury Compensation Settlements in Ireland for Children
Injury compensation settlements in Ireland for children have to take into account any long term affects of an injury on the remainder of the child´s life. These considerations do not only apply to physical injuries, but to emotional traumas which may remove a child´s future confidence to engage in social interaction and present well in interviews for employment.
Because these considerations may not come to light for many years after an injury has been sustained, children have two years from their eighteenth birthdays in which to make personal injury claims in Ireland. However, it is not always advisable for a lengthy delay in making personal injury claims for children in Ireland and a personal injury solicitor will factor in these considerations when claiming for injury compensation in Ireland for children – with any final settlement being approved by a judge before payment can be made.
Get Professional Advice on Injury Compensation Amounts in Ireland
Whether you have referred to the Book of Quantum, heard about a compensation settlement on the television, studied the news pages of the Legal Advice Ireland or been told how much compensation you should receive from a friend who has suffered a similar injury, there is no substitute for receiving professional and individual advice about injury compensation in Ireland from a personal injury solicitor.
According to a report funded by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences, more than 90 per cent of people making personal injury claims for compensation in Ireland do so with the assistance of a personal injury solicitor. Only after taking every possible variable into account will a personal injury solicitor be able to advise you of the injury compensation amounts you should be entitled to receive for an injury sustained in an accident for which you were not wholly to blame.