The Law Society will accept the setting up of a Personal Injuries Assessment Board if it is fair and makes economic sense, Mr Ken Murphy said yesterday.
Speaking at the launch of the Law Society's proposals for reform of the existing system to speed up the process and thereby reduce costs, the society's director general said that the political reality appeared to be that a Personal Injuries Assessment Board would be set up.
However, this would only be fair to plaintiffs if a number of conditions were met. These included ensuring that its composition was free of bias, and not weighted towards the insurance companies; that there was no reduction in the level of compensation paid to victims; that they be allowed have medical reports from the doctor of their choice; that they have the right to be heard directly by the PIAB; that they have the right to legal representation and that either party should have the right to reject a PIAB recommendation.
Mr Murphy also questioned whether the proposed board would make economic sense. He quoted from a number of recently-published reports, including that commissioned by the Law Society itself from Mr Des Peelo, which found that it would cost almost €30 million to set up.
The implementation group for the board, set up by the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, estimated it would cost between €8 and €9 million.
"In the light of this, the Law Society today calls for a proper cost benefit analysis of the PIAB proposals to be undertaken before any further steps to implement it," said Mr Murphy.
"We believe that the PIAB should not be introduced in the absence of an unambiguous guarantee in advance from the insurance industry that a significant reduction in insurance premiums would in fact result," he concluded.