Personal Injuries Award Values Report H1 2024

Injuries Resolution Board publishes Personal Injuries Award Values Report for H1 2024

The Injuries Resolution Board has today published its Personal Injuries Award Values Report for the first half of 2024.

The report provides an overview of over 4,000 assessments of compensation made by the Injuries Resolution Board for non-fatal personal injury claims between January to June 2024.

 

Personal Injury Claim Volumes and Award Values

• In the first half of 2024, a total of 10,670 claim applications were submitted to the Injuries Resolution Board, including over 400 Garda Compensation Scheme claims, which first came under the Board's remit in April 2023.
• Among Motor, Employer and Public Liability claims, overall, there was a 2% decrease in the number of claims submitted in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Motor Liability claims increased by 2%, while Employer Liability and Public Liability claims decreased by 5% and 8%, respectively.
• The median award value decreased by 29%, from €18,422 in 2020 to €13,000 in the first half of 2024, with the most significant reduction among Public Liability awards (-34%).
• The average award value also remained lower than the 2020 pre-Guideline award, decreasing by 22% from €23,877 in 2020 to €18,722 in the first half of 2024

 

This trend reflects the impact of the Personal Injuries Guidelines introduced in April 2021, which shifted award values towards lower value bands.

This ongoing impact can be clearly seen among claim categories, with 37% of Public Liability awards made in the first half of 2024 valued under €10,000, compared to just 15% of awards in 2020.

 

Some Key Personal Injury Trends:

• Recent legislative changes allowing the Board to assess wholly psychological injuries have influenced the injury profile, with psychiatric damage cases increasing from 5% of awards in 2021 to 13% of awards made in the first half of 2024.
• The slight increase in the proportion of psychiatric damage awards in the first half of 2024 compared to 2023 (+1%) suggests that this trend has now stabilised.
• The proportion of awards made for moderate to severe injuries increased from 15% (April to December 2021) to 22% of awards made in the first half of 2024.
• In the first half of 2024, neck and back injuries accounted for 46% of awards made, with 88% of these classified as minor. Data indicates a notable shift in recovery patters, showing fewer awards for minor neck and back injuries that had substantial recovery periods within six months.

 

About the Injuries Resolution Board:

The Injuries Resolution Board is Ireland’s independent State Body which resolves personal injury claims. The organisation was originally established in 2004, as the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) to support the fair, prompt, and transparent resolution of personal injuries claims without the need for unnecessary litigation. From the 14th of December 2023 the remit of the organisation was broadened, and its name changed to reflect the introduction of new services such as mediation. It is a self-funded public body and is a key pillar in contributing to reform of the insurance sector and the personal injuries environment. The state body generates millions of euro in savings which would otherwise be spent on processing claims, leading to higher costs for policy-holders. The Injuries Resolution Board is the independent state body for personal injury claims resolution in Ireland.