Anyone already settled with PIAB?

kennM

Good afternoon all,

One thing I've found is that its very difficult to get a fair idea of what a settlement "should" be, book of quantum can help if things are simplistic. I appreciate every case is unique but could be of some use to someone.

Have you gone through PIAB/Injuries Board and settled?

How severe were your injuries?

Any long lasting issues?

Approx. settlement figure - If you wish to share (entirely up to you)

Were you happy overall?

What advice would you give to others currently going through the process?

Cheers all.

corkcity

still waiting:)
any day now ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Milk & Honey

kennM wrote: »

What advice would you give to others currently going through the process?

Cheers all.

Get a competent solicitor.

corkcity

good solicitor
and buckets and buckets of patiance

Esoteric_

kennM wrote: »

Good afternoon all,

One thing I've found is that its very difficult to get a fair idea of what a settlement "should" be, book of quantum can help if things are simplistic. I appreciate every case is unique but could be of some use to someone.

Have you gone through PIAB/Injuries Board and settled?

How severe were your injuries?

Any long lasting issues?

Approx. settlement figure - If you wish to share (entirely up to you)

Were you happy overall?

What advice would you give to others currently going through the process?

Cheers all.

1. Yes, I settled last year.

2. Serious, but nothing life threatening. I damaged all the tendons, ligaments and muscles in my lower back and one hip. Nearly 2 months off of work, restricted duties when I went back to work and several months of physio.

3. Yes. Nothing serious, but quite regular back pain and I can't do any very heavy lifting or wear very high heels anymore. That's all expected to heal in time, but, a year on from the accident, I still get back pain quite regularly. I'm in pain while typing this! :pac:

4. A little under 10,000 euro. Settled quite fast, too. All done, cheque in hand, within 3 months.

5. Advice - don't expect them to give you legal advice, or tell you what to do. Talk to a solicitor if you need that kind of advice. For example, the company I made a claim against wanted to meet to make an offer, but the PIAB couldn't advise me as to whether or not to go to the meeting (understandably!). Expect it to take some time. I'd go weeks without correspondence, but they didn't forget me! Just be patient, keep your wits about you, and expect the place/person you're claiming against to try to fight you. Keep your head and you'll be fine.

There was no way I'd have been able to afford a solicitor to take a case, and the injuries board were fantastic with me. I'd highly recommend them.

aN.Droid

I got a settlement amount from the PIAB roughly 8 months ago. It was unsatisfactory so I refused it. I now have to go for my fourth medical appointment today for my case.

I am hoping this will be the end of the leg work and I will finally get my day in court and get what I am owed. This case has been going on for 18 months now.

McCrack

LyndaMcL wrote: »

1. Yes, I settled last year.

2. Serious, but nothing life threatening. I damaged all the tendons, ligaments and muscles in my lower back and one hip. Nearly 2 months off of work, restricted duties when I went back to work and several months of physio.

3. Yes. Nothing serious, but quite regular back pain and I can't do any very heavy lifting or wear very high heels anymore. That's all expected to heal in time, but, a year on from the accident, I still get back pain quite regularly. I'm in pain while typing this! :pac:

4. A little under 10,000 euro. Settled quite fast, too. All done, cheque in hand, within 3 months.

5. Advice - don't expect them to give you legal advice, or tell you what to do. Talk to a solicitor if you need that kind of advice. For example, the company I made a claim against wanted to meet to make an offer, but the PIAB couldn't advise me as to whether or not to go to the meeting (understandably!). Expect it to take some time. I'd go weeks without correspondence, but they didn't forget me! Just be patient, keep your wits about you, and expect the place/person you're claiming against to try to fight you. Keep your head and you'll be fine.

There was no way I'd have been able to afford a solicitor to take a case, and the injuries board were fantastic with me. I'd highly recommend them.

I would be of the view that that Assessment is very undervalued particularly as you say that you are still symptomatic.

Why did you not instruct a solicitor? Your legal costs would have been met by the other side.

The Injuries Board are a pawn of the insurance industry, they are not independent, they are a business, each application referred to them they make €850 from the Respondent and a more modest €45 from the Applicant.

iphone4quest

LyndaMcL wrote: »

4. A little under 10,000 euro. Settled quite fast, too. All done, cheque in hand, within 3 months.

There was no way I'd have been able to afford a solicitor to take a case, and the injuries board were fantastic with me. I'd highly recommend them.

LyndaMcL - Hope you don't mind me saying but a little under 10,000 for the seriousness of your injuries seems very very little. Just from my own (Friends) experience you should have gotten a lot more. Was that the first offer you took ? I would of expected a lot lot more.

I couldn't afford a solicitor either but they don't expect payment until your case is settled, well thats how my current arrangements with my solicitor are. When your case is been settled your solicitor fees are separate from your own settlement cost. The insurance company or the person you are claiming against pays for your solicitor fees.

Limericks wrote: »

I got a settlement amount from the PIAB roughly 8 months ago. It was unsatisfactory so I refused it. I now have to go for my fourth medical appointment today for my case.

I am hoping this will be the end of the leg work and I will finally get my day in court and get what I am owed. This case has been going on for 18 months now.

In a similar position myself. It's very frustrating. I was rejected by the PIAB, then my solicitor arranged a settlement date with the insurance company a couple of weeks ago. Insurance company never showed, so know I'm waiting to see if it will go to court. Accident happened in 2010.

My advice to all would be get a solicitor, and as already stated above have a serious amount of Patience :rolleyes:

chasm

kennM wrote: »

Good afternoon all,

One thing I've found is that its very difficult to get a fair idea of what a settlement "should" be, book of quantum can help if things are simplistic. I appreciate every case is unique but could be of some use to someone.

Have you gone through PIAB/Injuries Board and settled?

How severe were your injuries?

Any long lasting issues?

Approx. settlement figure - If you wish to share (entirely up to you)

Were you happy overall?

What advice would you give to others currently going through the process?

Cheers all.

I went through the injuries board and settled 2 years ago.

I had soft tissue injury to neck, back and shoulder and nerve damage in one arm. I have problems with anything that involves lifting/carrying weight and i still cannot ride my motorcycle on long journeys as i get bad neck pain.

I received just under €30k, i was not working at time of accident so had no loss of wages to claim and my medical card covered doctors visits and most meds. Had a lot of physio though, which i had to pay for myself at the time.
The insurance company offered me €4,500 3 days after the accident which i turned down as they were pressuring me to settle and i was still waiting to see my GP. After i lodge my claim to the IB the insurance company offered me €8k plus expenses, which i also turned down. I was happy with the assessment.

Advice? Patience is key Lodge your claim and get on with your life and your recovery as they have 9 months to assess.

LyndaMcL wrote: »

1. Yes, I settled last year.

2. Serious, but nothing life threatening. I damaged all the tendons, ligaments and muscles in my lower back and one hip. Nearly 2 months off of work, restricted duties when I went back to work and several months of physio.

3. Yes. Nothing serious, but quite regular back pain and I can't do any very heavy lifting or wear very high heels anymore. That's all expected to heal in time, but, a year on from the accident, I still get back pain quite regularly. I'm in pain while typing this! :pac:

4. A little under 10,000 euro. Settled quite fast, too. All done, cheque in hand, within 3 months.

5. Advice - don't expect them to give you legal advice, or tell you what to do. Talk to a solicitor if you need that kind of advice. For example, the company I made a claim against wanted to meet to make an offer, but the PIAB couldn't advise me as to whether or not to go to the meeting (understandably!). Expect it to take some time. I'd go weeks without correspondence, but they didn't forget me! Just be patient, keep your wits about you, and expect the place/person you're claiming against to try to fight you. Keep your head and you'll be fine.

There was no way I'd have been able to afford a solicitor to take a case, and the injuries board were fantastic with me. I'd highly recommend them.

That seems very low especially considering there was loss of wages too!
Did you accept the IB's assessment or did you accept an offer from the insurance company midway through the process? as 3 months is very quick

iphone4quest wrote: »

I couldn't afford a solicitor either but they don't expect payment until your case is settled, well thats how my current arrangements with my solicitor are. When your case is been settled your solicitor fees are separate from your own settlement cost. The insurance company or the person you are claiming against pays for your solicitor fees.:

That's only if it goes to court though, your solicitors fees would come out of your settlement with the IB. Also it used to be the case that if you turned down the IB assessment and you were awarded less than that amount in court you paid your own legal fees, i'm not sure if this is how it still stands though.

corkcity

patience patience patience patience patience patience patience patience patience patience patience patience patience patience patience patience
would love to know how many people work for the injuries board .snails pace ,really is a joke

measurement

This is a very useful discussion.
Has anyone got an insight as to whether it is advisable to respond to a letter from the insurance company offering to 'discuss your claim and liabilities', if the claim to the PIAB has already been submitted?
My instinct is to ignore their letter and await developments, on the assumption that they are trying to undercut whatever the PIAB might decide.

kennM

measurement wrote: »

This is a very useful discussion.
Has anyone got an insight as to whether it is advisable to respond to a letter from the insurance company offering to 'discuss your claim and liabilities', if the claim to the PIAB has already been submitted?
My instinct is to ignore their letter and await developments, on the assumption that they are trying to undercut whatever the PIAB might decide.

Thx.... naturally every case is unique and everyones circumstances are unique (Now that I've got the disclaimer out of the way).

The reality is that the objective of any insurance company is going to be to settle a claim and limit their exposure as much as possible. In my view this is done two ways.... (a) negotiated settlement and (b) settle early before the claimant gets a true handle on what is permanent/longer lasting and whats not.

Insurance companies are not in the business of wanting to give you more than what the injuries board or the courts will provide. "Nice" isn't in their business model.

In my view the only way you should negotiate a settlement is if you have a very very clear picture of what a fair value for your injury is (which is difficult) and you know FOR SURE that your injury is resolved or you have a definitive prognosis.

Be careful all the same, doctors differ in their opinion. In my case one early report stated one of my injuries would be fine within a few months. A year later I was in for two surgeries to try and repair it.... its not going to go away, ever.

Hope this helps....

measurement

Thanks Kennm, yes it helps confirm my instinctive response

McCrack

measurement wrote: »

This is a very useful discussion.
Has anyone got an insight as to whether it is advisable to respond to a letter from the insurance company offering to 'discuss your claim and liabilities', if the claim to the PIAB has already been submitted?
My instinct is to ignore their letter and await developments, on the assumption that they are trying to undercut whatever the PIAB might decide.

Yes ignore the letter, and I can tell you whatever PIAB assess it will be undervalued too.

If/when they make their assessment don't just see the dolla signs and rush to sign the acceptance form, contact a solicitor for advice.