Clare is the fifth highest in the national rankings of personal injury awards per head of population, for the first half of this year.
During the first six months of 2014, the total compensation awarded to personal injury claimants by the Injuries Board increased by 22% to €144 million, according to a mid-year analysis undertaken by the board.
The increase was largely attributable to a natural time lag between the spike in claims over recent years and the resolution of those claims.
By 2013 the increase in new claims had begun to level off and this trend has continued in to 2014 with claims volumes declining 1.3% in the eight months to August. Average compensation remained relatively unchanged at just over €22,000.
As fifth in the national ranking of awards per head of population, 168 awards were made to Clare claimants in the first six months of the year with a total value of €3.6m. The average award was €21,463.
The Injuries Board is the independent State body that makes statutory personal injury (PI) awards in respect of motor, employer and public liability accidents. The Board was established 10 years ago to address a claims / insurance price spiral that undermined competitiveness and clogged the courts.
Compensation was awarded to 6,552 personal injury claimants, up from 5,286 during the first six months of 2013. The average award remained relatively unchanged compared to last year, decreasing slightly by 1% to €22,082. The increase in the number of awards made by the Injuries Board can be attributed to increased volumes of claims received by the Board in preceding years, which are now emerging from the system as well as increased usage of the Injuries Board process by respondents and their insurers.
The breakdown of awards is as follows: motor liability – 75.6%, public liability – 17.2%, and employer liability – 7.2%. While there was an overall increase of 24% in the numbers of awards made in the period, the rate of increase was greatest in relation to public liability awards, at 30%. Motor liability awards increased 24% year on year and employer liability awards increased by 10%.
Longford, Limerick, Louth, Dublin and Clare are the five counties with the largest number of awards as a proportion of population.
The five counties with the lowest number of awards per head of population are Kilkenny, Wicklow, Wexford, Carlow and Mayo.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.