PIAB

Michael Weston

Hi looking for some advice from someone who has been through this before, I was in a road traffic accident early last year , the other party admitted liability and three weeks ago I had the independent medical assessment. Does anyone know how long it takes from that point to settle the claim ?

goz83

The other party admitting liability means very little unless it's the insurance company admitting liability for their client and there must be proof of it.

There is no way of knowing when your case will come to a close. The other side may want you to attend more specialists. This would depend on the extent of your injuries and if they are ongoing.

I had an injury claim go through the piab (now the injuries board) from an accident in october 2011. It took just shy of 2 years to close off and it was a minor enough whiplash injury. I recall visiting two doctors requested by the other side.

If both sides accept the injuries board assessment, an order to pay will be issued. If either side reject the assessment, then it can go to court and this can add years to a claim.

The most important thing is to be sure that you have a proper prognosis if you are not yet fully healed. Your health is way more important than quickly closing the case.

Michael Weston

Thanks Goz , the other insurance company have admitted liability and I saw there specialist. Thankfully the injury seems to be behind me. How long did you have to wait from the time the injury board recommended a compensation figure and how long after you saw the specialist did it take for them assess the value of your claim. Thanks again

goz83

If the injury is behind you and there are no after effects, then I would imagine that it will close up quite quickly (relatively speaking). The delays are generally when you are waiting to see another doctor, or if the injury is ongoing, or you're waiting on a court date. As yours seems to be at the dust settled stage, I can't see it taking more than three months. The other doctor will write up a report and send it to the insurer...which could take a month. Your own doctor may want to have a final say if he/she hasn't already. Then your solicitor should take it from there. Once a sum is agreed by both sides, an order to pay is issued and the insurer has a month to pay. Your solicitor gets the cheque and you pay your solicitor from out of the compensation. That's around €1-2000 under normal circumstances I think. I would advise you contact your solicitor for details.

Michael Weston

goz83 wrote:

If the injury is behind you and there are no after effects, then I would imagine that it will close up quite quickly (relatively speaking). The delays are generally when you are waiting to see another doctor, or if the injury is ongoing, or you're waiting on a court date. As yours seems to be at the dust settled stage, I can't see it taking more than three months. The other doctor will write up a report and send it to the insurer...which could take a month. Your own doctor may want to have a final say if he/she hasn't already. Then your solicitor should take it from there. Once a sum is agreed by both sides, an order to pay is issued and the insurer has a month to pay. Your solicitor gets the cheque and you pay your solicitor from out of the compensation. That's around €1-2000 under normal circumstances I think. I would advise you contact your solicitor for details.

Thanks a million for filling me in . My solicitor advised me of her costs and seems reasonable I've no idea about level of compensation, I know the book of quantum gives an estimated amount but speaking to others who have been in the same situation it appears to be a very mixed bag

goz83

No problem. The BoQ will give a fairly decent guestimate when going via injuries board. I found it to be accurate enough for a neck whiplash injury which took about 2 years to resolve. Maybe you can write up your experience when its over.

Michael Weston

goz83 wrote:

No problem. The BoQ will give a fairly decent guestimate when going via injuries board. I found it to be accurate enough for a neck whiplash injury which took about 2 years to resolve. Maybe you can write up your experience when its over.

I'll post an update here. Just one last thing, I was treated for a shoulder and neck injury. Do you know if they are assessed as one single injury or both separately . Thanks again for your answers

goz83

Michael Weston wrote: »

I'll post an update here. Just one last thing, I was treated for a shoulder and neck injury. Do you know if they are assessed as one single injury or both separately . Thanks again for your answers

Presumably whiplash...soft tissue injury. It is said that they only focus on the worst injury. They don't break down the injury compensation per injury. It's just one figure for pain and suffering and then another figure for loss of earnings and property damage (special damages). I suspect (though I can't be sure) that they put some consideration into other injuries, but less so when the injury is in the same area. They might pay more attention to polar injuries where a wrist is broken and an ankle is broken for example. A shoulder and neck injury will generally cause you similar restrictions, so imo would have less consideration. But, i am just guessing tbh.