Reward for average personal injury claim in Ireland was just over €24,000 last year

There was less people on the roads, in places of work, or meeting with large groups, leading to a drop in accidents.

There was a 16% decrease in claims made to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) last year, a new report has revealed. The PIAB report for 2020, which was released on Tuesday morning, shows that during the first half of the pandemic in 2020 personal injury claims dropped by a significant amount. The report also confirmed that awards have halved since new guidelines were introduced by the Judicial Court back in late April. The figures predate the personal injury award guidelines, which have subsequently seen the average awards slashed by roughly 50%, according to the PIAB report.

Total awards declined by €70 million throughout 2020 to about €206 million, and were down €92 million on 2019.

26,009 new claims were dealt with last year, with the average award valued at just over €24,000. It is believed that the claims went down due to less people being present on roads and streets or at places of work and large gatherings, due to the pandemic. Last year was the last full year the 'Book of Quantum' was used to determine compensation amounts for personal injury claims made to the board. The full PIAB report for 2020 is available to access here.