How Long Does a Personal Injury Claim Take in Ireland
It’s hardly news to state that the Irish justice system moves slowly. When we talk about any type of personal injury claim we have to judge the timeframe in months and in certain cases even years.
As with any legal dispute, personal injury claims are complex and therefore require the care and attention of a network of experts. Even seemingly straightforward personal injury claims – where liability is obvious – can still stretch on for months and years. While we most emphasise, giving an exact timeline on a personal injury claim is nearly impossible – every claim has a unique set of circumstances – we want this blog to act as a rough guide for the timeframes usually involved in settling a Personal Injury Solicitor Dublin case.
Claims Submitted to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB)
The vast majority of personal injury claims in Ireland are submitted to the PIAB. The Personal Injuries Assessment Board is a fully independent state boy set up to assess personal injury compensation claims. Since being established in 2004, the PIAB has assessed more than 130,000 cases.
Some of the cases processed by the PIAB include road traffic accidents, accidents at work and public liability cases.
As a general rule of thumb, the PIAB can take anywhere from 7 to 9 months to assess a case and come back with a compensation recommendation. After both parties receive this compensation number they each have 28 days to accept or reject the amount.
If the amount is rejected the claim will be processed through the courts which can take anywhere from 1 to 2 years.
Personal Injury Claims Not Submitted to the PIAB
The only personal injury cases that the PIAB does not process are medical negligence cases. Due to the complexity of most medical negligence injures, it will in all likelihood take years to resolve a dispute. Although most cases settle before reaching the courts, it can still be a lengthy process to get to a settlement. Therefore for a medical negligence case, we’re looking at a timeline of anywhere from 2 to 5 years before a settlement is reached.
Still not sure how long a personal claim will take to process? Please call our offices today with details of your injuries. Our expert personal injury solicitors will be able to give you a more accurate timeline based on the details of your case.