PIAB Report dated 3rd November 2022

• Average PIAB award is now €14,786 compared with €23,877 in 2020

• 48% of awards assessed under PIAB are now being accepted by claimants in June 2022

The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) published its third Report yesterday on average award levels since the introduction of the Personal Injury Guidelines. This Report covers all categories of claims for the timeframe January to June 2022 and provides insight into award levels and acceptance rates.

The Report notes that the overall average award for the first six months of 2022 was €14,786 and this was 38% below the figure in 2020 when the average award was €23,877 at a time when the Book of Quantum was being used to assess awards.

The total number of claims that PIAB received in the first half of 2022 was 8,989. This is a decrease on the number of applications for the first half of 2021 which stood at 13,569. The Report notes the 2021 figures were impacted by a significant increase in claims in the months preceding the introduction of the Guidelines.

Acceptance Rates

The Report notes that 48% of awards assessed are now being accepted by claimants in June 2022.

The Report states that while the overall acceptance rate dropped since the introduction of the Guidelines, the rate has increased and continues to do so. The overall rate is up 5% points for the first 6 months of the year compared to April – December 2021 and the latest monthly rate is 48% which is approaching the pre-guidelines prevailing rate.

However, it is also noted that it is too early to determine where acceptance rates will land in the medium term.

Trends

The average motor liability award was €13,648 in the period, down 38%.

The average public liability award was €15,813, down 39%, and the average employer’s liability award was €18,699, also down 39%.

Comment

Rosalind Carroll of PIAB has commented on the above trends as follows:

“PIAB expects to see this upward acceptance trend continue, as both claimants and respondents get used to the new Personal Injury Guidelines, particularly in respect of savings in legal costs and litigation, today’s report clearly shows that the guidelines are having an impact”.

This third Report from PIAB provides a useful insight into current acceptance rates and reductions in the average awards.

However, the personal injuries landscape remains in a period of transition, and it will take a number of years to determine what impact the Guidelines are having. Such an assessment will require an analysis of Court Judgments and PIAB awards and for the moment such reported trends should perhaps be treated with caution.

Read the full report here.

If you have a question in relation to the above article, please contact Nicola Kiely, Solicitor, CKT.

Our previous article relating to the PIAB Annual Report for 2021 is available here.