Personal Injury Reform: Eight Years On

• Author: Neil Patton
• Position: BCL (International) IV, University College Cork
• Pages: 65-76

[2012] COLR

65

PERSONAL INJURY REFORM: EIGHT YEARS ON

Neil Patton*

A INTRODUCTION

At the dawn of the twenty-first century Ireland faced what was described as an out-of-control

culture of personal injury claims. The court system had become inundated with litigation

marked by systemic frivolity, exaggeration and fraud. Insurance premiums were escalating

dramatically and there was significant political pressure to control the level of unmeritorious

claims and inflated costs. Public attention was becoming increasingly focused on the issue.

Furthermore, powerful insurance and employment groups were lobbying for reform to protect

their dwindling profits.

A three-year investigation resulted in a 2002 report1 that laid the blame for rising insurance

cost squarely on the shoulders of the legal profession. Among the Report‟s more damaging

findings was that, on average, legal fees accounted for 42% of the cost of resolving a claim.

Many other reformists felt that an insidious culture of „ambulance chasing‟ was to blame for

the escalating problems. Personal injury lawyers were accused of supporting unmeritorious

claims in the pursuit of unscrupulous profit. The Law Society of Ireland had enacted a series

of measures to address this issue, focusing primarily on regulating the advertisement of legal

services.2 Despite this, critics were not quieted and it became obvious that legislative

intervention was required.

As part of the broader Insurance Reform Programme, the Government sought to introduce a

new personal injury litigation regime through the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act

2003 (the PIAB Act) and the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 (the 2004 Act). The former

sought to effectively remove the court system from the majority of personal injuries claims

by establishing an extrajudicial board of evaluation. The latter targeted specific litigation

procedures which were thought to facilitate undeserving or exaggerated claims.

It has now been eight years since the landscape of Irish personal injury litigation was

transformed beyond recognition. This essay will critically examine the procedural reform,

describing in detail each of the relevant legislative provisions. This will be followed by an

individual evaluation of both components of reform in terms of their impact on the personal

injury system since their introduction. Concluding comments will then be made on the overall

success or failure of the new system, with suggestions for possible reform.

B PERSONAL INJURIES ASSESSMENT BOARD ACT 2003

The 2003 Act established the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (later renamed the Injuries

*BCL (International) IV, University College Cork.

1 Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation The Fina l Report of the Motor Insurance Advisory Board

(2002).

2 Solicitors (Amendment) Act 2002.