The Injuries Board state that they have significantly reduced the amount of time it takes to resolve a claim from three years to nine months, in most cases. Indeed the Irish Independent recently reported that “The average award was €21,502, while the highest was €697,495, and the majority were solved in seven months.” The Injuries Board website is comprehensive and informative and provides a number of case studies by way of example to claimants. Two case studies in particular advise of the speedy time frame in which compensation was awarded to claimants – both claimants received compensation within nine months of their claim being submitted.
It is important to note that in the majority of cases it can take at a very minimum twelve months for your symptoms to fully settle down and in a lot of cases the symptoms may take substantially longer to settle down or worse have permanent effects. It is a serious risk to accept compensation for injuries which are not fully known as no one knows how long the recovery process will take or if there may be lasting damage. If you accept an assessment of compensation in the months after your accident without the proper advice you risk being hugely under compensated should your symptoms continue or even deteriorate afterwards. Once an assessment is made by the Injuries Board and is accepted by a claimant it is in full and final settlement for that injury and there is no turning back!
We would strongly recommend that any person who has suffered a personal injury and is making an application to the Injuries Board firstly seek legal advice.
