Thousands of personal injury claimants will be able to recoup legal and other costs under a change announced yesterday by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. Paul Cullen,Consumer Affairs Correspondent, reports.
The board said "vulnerable" claimants would now be allowed additional fees and expenses, including legal fees, on the assessment of their claims.
The move is a significant change of policy for the board, which was set up in order to cut the legal costs associated with personal injuries claims and has clashed repeatedly with sections of the legal profession.
The board is also increasing the amount it pays for medical reports, following complaints that its cover was inadequate to meet the cost of such reports. The increase is from €150 a report to €220.
In another move to improve access to its services, the board plans to introduce an online claims processing service from next spring.
At present, claimants deal with the agency via a service centre in Clonakilty, by post or phone.
Up to now, the board paid fees and expenses only in cases where claimants such as minors lacked full legal capacity. About 1,000 of the 10,000 awards handled so far have been treated in this manner.
Now, however, fees and charges will be paid for claimants with exceptional circumstances; this could include people with literacy difficulties, those with diminished capacity, whether or not this was caused by their accident, and immigrants who may need translation services.
Most of the cost will be borne by insurance companies.
The board's chief executive, Patricia Byron, said the changes would increase the cost of processing claims from 7 per cent of total awards to 10 per cent. This still compared favourably with the old lawyer and court-based system, she said, where legal costs added almost 50 per cent to the cost of awards.
"We believe that vulnerable clients must be more broadly defined to encompass those in society who, through individual circumstances, may require additional assistance," Ms Byron said.
The board has also applied to Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin for an increase in the fee insurance companies pay for assessed cases, which currently stands at €900.
The board claims it is making personal injury awards at the same level as the courts but three times faster and 70 per cent cheaper.
However, 90 per cent of claimants are opting to use a solicitor, even though the board encourages direct applications.