Personal Injuries Board

willyjoe1

After admitting responsibility and compensating for total loss of vehicle would the insurance company for the defendant decide not to allow the injuries board to assess the personal injuries (minor injury, broken wrist fully healed) and instead opt to go to court. I thought IB had a record of lower compensation than courts with no legal fees involved??

Sue Pa Key Pa

willyjoe1 wrote: »

After admitting responsibility and compensating for total loss of vehicle would the insurance company for the defendant decide not to allow the injuries board to assess the personal injuries (minor injury, broken wrist fully healed) and instead opt to go to court. I thought IB had a record of lower compensation than courts with no legal fees involved??

If they weren't happy with the extent of the alleged injury, they might

willyjoe1

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

If they weren't happy with the extent of the alleged injury, they might

Thank you , solicitor valued the claim €25k ish. I can't help wondering is there something in the interests of the big insurance companies to choose court even when the final payout is almost certain to be much greater than the IB would cost,.

Sue Pa Key Pa

willyjoe1 wrote: »

Thank you , solicitor valued the claim €25k ish. I can't help wondering is there something in the interests of the big insurance companies to choose court even when the final payout is almost certain to be much greater than the IB would cost,.

I think you have your answer. In your own words €25k, minor injury, broken wrist, fully healed.

hullaballoo

I wouldn't call a broken wrist of any severity a "minor" injury. Broken bones are rarely minor matters.

The Book of Quantum says that a broken wrist is worth:

Minor (Simple non-displaced fracture to any of the bones of the wrist which has substantially recovered.)| €19,300-€36,800
Moderate (Simple or minimally displaced fractures with a full recovery expected with treatment.)| €35,000 to €45,000
Moderately severe Multiple fractures that have resolved but with ongoing pain and stiffness which impacts on movement of the wrist.)|€54,200 to €70,100
Severe and permanent conditions (Complex and multiple fractures to the bones within the wrist which required extensive surgery and extended healing but may result in an incomplete union and the possibility of having or has achieved arthritic changes and degeneration of the wrist and may affect the ability to use the hand.)|€68,400 to €78,000

hashtagJustSayin

willyjoe1

But surely the legal costs will be at least 25k and would have been nil at IB. The insurance companies are constantly saying high awards are responsible for high cost of cover. I could understand them rejecting a settlement recommended by the IB and then going to Court, but they could surely have saved money by going the IB route first. It does not make sense. I do not know if 25k for the injury is high or not but its what the solicitor, based on Book of IB said it would be, but he also said it is almost always more if going court route.

Sue Pa Key Pa

The OP referred to his own injury as 'minor and fully healed'. Shows you that the book of quantum is very generous in Ireland. I wonder who funds these payments. Oh yes, every policyholder....

hullaballoo

willyjoe1 wrote: »

But surely the legal costs will be at least 25k and would have been nil at IB. The insurance companies are constantly saying high awards are responsible for high cost of cover. I could understand them rejecting a settlement recommended by the IB and then going to Court, but they could surely have saved money by going the IB route first. It does not make sense. I do not know if 25k for the injury is high or not but its what the solicitor, based on Book of IB said it would be, but he also said it is almost always more if going court route.

Legal costs wouldn't be anywhere near €25,000 for a claim at that level but obviously your point stands as the legal costs will necessarily be increased by forcing you to court.

No one knows how insurance companies make these decisions but they must have a reason for thinking it's financially more prudent to go to court on this one.

It may be something along the lines that they want their own medical report so that they can assess the value of the claim if they are doubtful your injuries are as bad as you are making out. That may be regarded as due diligence in some strange way rather than just accepting that PIAB will do their own due diligence.

Another alternative is that they are fighting for the sake of fighting.

hullaballoo

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

The OP referred to his own injury as 'minor and fully healed'. Shows you that the book of quantum is very generous in Ireland. I wonder who funds these payments. Oh yes, every policyholder....

It's always someone else's fault. If it isn't the claimants, it's PIAB. If it isn't PIAB, it's the scammers. :rolleyes:

Of course, it's always the lawyers anyway.

Poor insurance companies. The great victims in all of this.

GM228

Roll on the new "Legal costs not the cause of insurance hikes" mark 2 thread in relation to PI....

Sue Pa Key Pa

hullaballoo wrote: »

It's always someone else's fault. If it isn't the claimants, it's PIAB. If it isn't PIAB, it's the scammers. :rolleyes:

Of course, it's always the lawyers anyway.

Poor insurance companies. The great victims in all of this.

I never mentioned lawyers and I never mentioned poor insurers. I rightly said the policyholders picked up the tab. You should answer my posts as I present them instead of rolling your eyes

kennM

Apologies in advance for the rant... to answer original question, yes either side may choose to reject the Injuries Board assessment and go to court. Either side has this option.

There are implications though. If the injured party is awarded less than PIAB assessed amount they may well have legal costs for both sides awarded against them so it's not without risk.

Rant - I always find it interesting to see the armchair experts chime in with moral high grounds. It's all scammers and that's way too much etc. etc. etc. Obviously never been injured through no fault of their own, at least not seriously. And each and every case is usually quite unique.

Broken wrist with increased risk of arthritis for a neuro surgeon vs. broken wrist for someone who's potentially impacted motor skills have less of a material impact on their life will be assessed completely different.

I've been on the receiving end unfortunately through no fault of my own. It was an absolute nightmare to say the least. Everything is stacked against you!!! impact to your personal life, your professional life, your finances, medical appointments, surgeries, treatments, physio, health ins companies, PIAB, etc. etc. etc. Then the armchair experts....