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How to make a claim

All personal injury claims must be made to the Injuries Resolution Board unless the claim has been settled at an early stage with the other side or the insurer directly.

Using our services provides a quick and cost-effective way of resolving personal injury claims when compared to timeframes and costs associated with litigation.  Because our process is non-adversarial, there is much less stress. The timeline for assessment of a claim by us, in most cases, is 9 months. This is from the time we receive consent from the person or organisation the claim is against. In contrast, the litigation or courts process can take more than 4 years, according to Central Bank research.  If your claim is a Garda Compensation claim, please click here for information on that scheme.

The five steps for making a claim to are:

Step One

Fill out a claim application form online OR complete and send one to use by post or email. 

The online application form is here and all of the paper forms are located hereA completed application will contain the following:

  • - Completed Application Form
  • - Our processing fee of €45 if your claim is submitted online or €90 if submitted by email or post.
  • - A completed medical report from your doctor

MEDIATION: We have always provided a claim assessment service and now, as part of our expanded services, the Injuries Resolution Board are now offering mediation as a alternative option for resolving Workplace Injury claims. Please see a briefing document on how our mediation process works  here. You can consent to mediation in Section 7 of our application form by clicking the box on the electronic or print application form as illustrated below:

Mediation-Tick-Box

  • Paper forms: If you are not using the online form, you can download our application form and medical form through the forms page on our website here 

Step Two

We will notify the Respondent of your claim (the Respondent is the person or organisation your claim is against) The Respondent, usually represented by an insurance company, then must agree to the assessment and/or mediation of your claim. Consent to the Injuries Resolution Board process by Respondent is typically quite high. This will take a maximum of 90 days. The Respondent can also consent to using our mediation service in employer liability cases and this option is available to the Respondent in our employer liability formal notice.

The Respondent has the following options:

  • Consent to mediation only
  • Consent to assessment only
  • Consent to both mediation and assessment
  • Do not consent to our involvement in the claim

If both parties consent to mediation, you will then enter our mediation process where one of our experienced and independent mediators will work with you and the Respondent with the aim of facilitating an agreed outcome.

If agreement is reached, the mediator will draft a written version of anything agreed orally. This will then go to both parties to sign and return. Once signed, there is a ten-day cooling off period, during which you can change your mind. If everyone is still happy after 10 days, the agreement becomes legally binding, and we will issue an Order to Pay. This order has the same standing as a court order.

If no agreement is reached, within our mediation process, the Respondent also consented to the assessment process and the claim is suitable for assessment, then you may proceed to Step 3 of our process below.

Please note, if the Respondent does not agree to a claim being dealt with by us at all, you are issued with an authorisation to take your claim through the court system, should you so wish. 

You can find more information on our mediation service here

Step Three

At this stage we may arrange for you to have an independent medical examination. The reason for this is that we have an accurate picture of all of your injuries and the expected time of recovery. Independent medical examinations are arranged in relation to most claims.

Step Four

We will then assess the monetary value of your claim (this is called compensation) covering the compensation for pain and suffering a result of the injury.

We will ask for receipts for out-of-pocket expenses you have had and for proof of loss of earnings incurred as a result of your injury, and that is additionally included in the compensation that we assess.

Step Five

You and the Respondent both receive a Notice of Assessment which sets out the compensation we have assessed for the injury. This will include the compensation for pain and suffering and the payment for out-of-pocket expenses. The Respondent has 21 days to accept the assessment and you, the claimant, has 28 days.

Where both parties accept the amount of compensation, our organisation issues a document called an Order to Pay, instructing the Respondent to pay the sum we have awarded. This Order to Pay has a similar status to a court order. Following that, the Respondent issues a settlement cheque.

If either you or the Respondent reject the assessment by then we will issue you with an authorisation which  allows you to take your claim through the court system should you so wish.  If that happens, the case leaves our organisation.

The Personal Injuries Guidelines set guideline levels for personal injury compensation awards in Ireland.

The Personal Injuries Guidelines are published by the Judicial Council.

The Injuries Resolution Board has put together some Questions and Answers which we hope will be useful to our customers, stakeholders and visitors to our website, at this link.

In the meantime, if you have further queries as a claimant or someone a claim is against, please do contact us 

 Frequently Asked Questions

  • How long do I have to make the claim?

 In most instances you need to make your claim within 2 years of the accident. It is recommended you submit your application form, the fee as set out above, and medical report within this time period

Further Help

  • The Rules for the PIAB process are available here 
  • If you have further queries, please refer to the frequently asked questions below or alternatively contact our Service Centre on 0818 829 121.
  • All of the forms associated with making a claim are available here