Many believe 'easy money' is the cause of high volume of personal injury claims

Over €2 billion has been paid out in personal injury claims in the past 20 years, with recent research finding that many people believe that high volumes of claims are being paid because it is easy to get money. 

That figure could have been higher with the Injuries Resolution Board saying over €1 billion was saved by claims not entering a legal system. 

Many of those surveyed also believe the high value of payments when there is a settlement encourages people to make a claim, ­research conducted for the Injuries Resolution Board has found.

The market research found four in 10 of those who responded feel claims are made because payments are easy to get and because of the big payouts.

Since its establishment in 2004 the Injuries Resolution Board has handled over 500,000 claim applications and had over €2 billion in compensation to injured parties accepted so that these claims did not enter the litigation system, achieving savings for parties to claims and policy holders of over €1.1 billion in this time, the board claims.

Public Opinion Research on Personal Injuries Compensation 2024 undertaken by Amárach Research and commissioned by the Injuries Resolution Board ahead of its conference shows that although almost 1 in 4 adults have been injured in an accident, just 1/3 of these went to make a personal injury claim.

For the most part, it is believed claims are made for a genuine reasons, however 4 in 10 believe claims are made because payments are easy to get and because of the value of claims

Injuries Resolution Board Chair Dermot Divilly said: "Over the past 20 years the Injuries Resolution Board has delivered significant change across the personal injuries environment - change which will be reflected upon during our conference. While we have achieved a great amount over the past two decades, the area of personal injuries remains an environment that begets us all to continue to evolve and do more to resolve claims without recourse to litigation.

"It is fitting that as we reach our 20th anniversary we do so with enhanced and expanded service provisions with the recent introduction of our new mediation service and our use of research data all underpinned by our new name which is focused on resolution. It reflects the continuing change in the sector but also of the evolving value and importance of the work of the Injuries Resolution Board".