A staff of 111 people and running costs of €8-9 million are among the proposals for the new Personal Injuries Assessment Board, according to the draft report from its Implementation Group.
The group, chaired by Mr Frank Cunneen, chair of the Health and Safety Authority, was established following a Government decision in March last year to establish a PIAB. The brief of the Implementation Group was to advise the Government on setting it up.
Last month the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, said she was pressing ahead with the board on an interim, and this is expected in the coming weeks. It will then be set up on a statutory basis.
This followed a report from the Motor Insurance Advisory Board, which had among its recommendations the establishment of a PIAB. An implementation group for the MIAB report has now also been set up.
The report from the PIAB Implementation Group covers legal and constitutional issues, logistical issues and a cost-benefit analysis, and it gives a proposed model for a PIAB.
The group proposes that the PIAB be established by statute. The legislation would spell out the composition of the board, which would be appointed by the Government. Initially it should have 11 members, representing employers and unions, the insurance industry, the Director of Consumer Affairs and specific areas of expertise.
Its remit should only be the amount of damages to be awarded to victims, not the issue of liability. The amounts should be based on court precedent.
Submission of all personal injuries claims to it should be mandatory, unless they were already covered by another tribunal. However, where the defendant said he or she was contesting the issue of liability, the claim would be released from the PIAB and sent to the courts. It should operate by written procedure.
The assessment of payable damages would be non-binding, with either party able to appeal the recommendation to the courts.
Disputes about medical evidence would be settled by the board seeking independent medical expertise. Initially it should concern itself only with employer's liability. After a review of its operations, it would assess claims arising from motor accidents.
When fully operational, the board would employ six senior assessors and 49 assessors, with support administrative staff and information technology staff. The staff would then total 111 people. The group estimates the cost of setting up the PIAB as €2 million, with annual running costs of €8-9 million. The establishment costs should be met by the Government, with the running costs recovered, in whole or in part, from the insurance industry.
It considers that it will provide an acceptable forum for the speedy and impartial resolution of a high proportion of personal injury claims.
However, it warned against high expectations of savings. According to the report, some members of the group considered that improvements of the existing court-based system should be costed, and progress towards setting up PIAB should allow for improvements in the existing system.