Solicitors are calling for personal injury awards to be increased as a result of the cost of living crisis.
The call follows a judicial review in March 2021 that approved lower awards for people who sustained minor injuries. The new guidelines, which were taken on by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, have seen payouts drop in some instances by up to 50-60%.
Solicitor Stuart Gilhooley spoke on Newstalk about how the reduction was affecting people who lodged personal injury claims. He also said the view that Ireland is a ‘gravy train’ when it comes to compensation was inaccurate, as victims are now allegedly not able to cover even medical expenses with awarded money.
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He told Newstalk: “You’ve got a situation now where if people are unlucky enough to have a serious injury, they’re going to get half the compensation. We all know insurance has not gone down despite the fact the awards have. They are not linked and there is now a double whammy to the consumer.”
Figures from the PIAB reveal that 21,410 personal injury claims were handled by the organisation in 2021. An estimated €157 million was paid out to these claimants over the course of the year.
Additionally, the solicitor argued that the amount of compensation awarded in Ireland is significantly lower than that in other countries such as the UK. In a heated exchange with presenter Ciara Kelly, he added that the insurance industry in Ireland has a “vested interest” in people not receiving adequate payment.
Stuart said: “There is a concern that legal fees and pay outs in this country are excessively high. There is a lot of figures bandied about by people with a vested interest who want people to get less compensation. They’re not necessarily borne out of any reality.”
However, research does suggest that pay outs were roughly four times higher in Ireland than in other European countries. These figures were recorded in 2018, however, and do not take into account the current cost of living crisis.
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