Personal Injury Procedure

When you attend at your solicitor he will take a full set of instructions, detailing all the

relevant points connected with the incident/accident. He will then investigate the matter on

your behalf, contacting gardai and witnesses, undertaking company searches and land

registry searches if required. He will also write to all parties concerned ensuring that all

relevant evidence to the case is preserved and will if required employ the services of an

engineer to prepare a report in support of your claim.

o A letter of claim will then be sent when your solicitor satisfied that all is in order and that all

the relevant parties have been identified. This is really the beginning of the process.

o In certain cases even before the letter of claim is sent you may by contacted by a

representative of an insurance company concerned with the accident, usually in road traffic

matters. Sometimes this person will offer to settle the claim then and there. It is ill advised to

settle your claim at this stage without advise, chances are you will be settling the claim for

less than its real value.

o PIAB has no role in determining liability and will not make any findings of fact relating to

fault or negligence. Its role is limited to valuing claims and making awards a claimant is then

free to issue proceedings in the normal way. The notification of the claim to PIAB will stop

the running of the Statute of Limitations.

o Following the letter of claim and if no settlement is reached an application can be made to

PIAB in accordance with Section 46 of the PIAB Act. The application is made by way of a

Form A. The form must be returned to PIAB with a fee of €50.00 imposed on the Claimant

by PIAB. Your solicitor will prepare this form and ensure all necessary is included. The

Application Form must be accompanied by a Letter of Claim (as specified under Section 8 of

the 2004 Act); copies of correspondence relating to the claim; a medical report; and any

documentation which PIAB considers relevant to include:

 Medical report(s)

 Engineering Report(s)

 Hospital Records

 Proof of Special Damages

 Witness statements

 Garda reports

 Motor Assessors reports

 Relevant search reports (licensed premises etc.)

o The official date of the making of an application under Section 11 of the PIAB Act (which is

the date on which the clock stops for the Statute of Limitations) is the date on which the fully

completed Form A and the information required by PIAB under Section 11 of the Act, is

acknowledged in writing as having been received by PIAB.

o Once PIAB acknowledges receipt of Form A and the accompanying documentation, PIAB

will notify the Respondent. The Respondent has ninety days from the issue of a formal

Section 13 Notice of Application to respond to PIAB in writing, stating that it does not

consent to an assessment being made. It will cost a Respondent €850.00 to participate in the

PIAB process. If the Respondent does not respond in writing to the notice within ninety

days, PIAB will proceed with the assessment as if the Respondent had consented. It is

important to note that under Section 16 of the PIAB Act, a Respondent consenting to

10

assessment, or failing to reply to the notification of assessment from PIAB, does not

constitute an admission of liability and cannot be used in evidence in a court case.

o If the Respondent agrees to an assessment by PIAB, PIAB will assess compensation to be

paid to the Claimant for pain and suffering in accordance with the Book of Quantum. There

is no oral hearing.

o PIAB must make the assessment within a period of nine months, which can be extended to

fifteen months.

o Both the Claimant and Respondent are notified of the assessment by PIAB. If either

Claimant or Respondent rejects the assessment then PIAB must issue an authorisation for

court proceedings.

o The Claimant has twenty eight days to write to PIAB to accept or reject the award, in default

of which he/she is deemed to have rejected it and an authorisation for court proceedings must

issue.

o The Respondent has twenty one days to reject the assessment, in default of which, it is

deemed to have accepted the assessment and PIAB will issue an Order to pay against the

Respondent, which has the same status as a Court Judgment.

o Claimants and Respondents must take into account the existence of other Respondents at the

out set of a claim in particular from a costs point of view. For instance situations can arise

where PIAB makes an assessment of damages against a participating Respondent and issues

an authorisation for proceedings against a non-participating Respondent. In such

circumstance your solicitor will advise the best course to take.