Patricia Byron, CEO of the Injuries Board

429 Personal Injury Awards in Meath last year

A total of 429 personal injury awards were made in Meath in 2012 according to the annual review of the Injuries Board.
This represented 4.3 per cent of the 9,888 awards made nationally last year.
The review by the Injuries Board has shown that personal injury claims increased by 4.7 per cent in 2012 and by almost one quarter (24 per cent) since 2007.
The Board assesses personal injury claims and makes awards relating to motor, employer and public liability accidents, without the need for litigation.
The increase was driven by motor claims which increased by 6.7 per cent in 2012 and by one third over the past five years.
Commenting, Patricia Byron, CEO of the Injuries Board, who is a native of Navan, said: “The steady but consistent increase in claims volumes over the past five years is a real concern at a time when our roads have never been safer and we have fewer people at work. The trend coincides with a significant increase in promotion and advertising by claims handling intermediaries.
“Last year, the Injuries Board raised concerns that specialist claims-farming firms were promoting a claims culture that could result in higher insurance premiums for consumers and business and a decline in competitiveness. We need to learn lessons from the UK market, where claims handling services are promoted heavily and whiplash claims have increased by 60 per cent since 2006.
“We believe that a regulatory gap has emerged whereby solicitors are restricted from promoting their services yet claims handling firms can do so with impunity. The upcoming Legal Services Bill presents an opportunity to address an emerging claims culture by extending restrictions on advertising to claims handling firms and by introducing strict powers of enforcement and sanctions for non-compliance by all intermediaries,” said Ms Byron.