The Form A is a detailed document issued by the Injuries Board to the aggrieved party. This form outlines valuable information and data such as the type of accident, the claimant’s details, the respondents details, the injury or claim details and about the medical report from your doctor.

The work of the Board begins after the application form is filed with them. It is necessary to specify the correct legal title name of the Respondent (person who caused the accident) on Form A.

The Respondent will in most cases not indicate to the Applicant if they have specified an incorrect legal entity name on the application form. Necessary checks must take place prior to filing the application form with the Board as to the correct legal title of the Respondent.

Additionally, you are supposed to fill out the exact nature of your injuries, the medical attention obtained, and indicate if loss of wages, medical expenses and out of pocket expenses forms part of the claim. It’s prudent for you, as the complainant, to make sure you complete any useful information sought on the application form.

This is a medical assessment form completed by the persons medical practitioner which forms part of the application. This document denotes essential medical information such as the Applicant’s names, addresses, gender, occupation, brief details of the accident, the nature and the severity of the injuries, the treatment prescribed and the relevant medical history of the injured person. The Form B should be signed by the practitioner to ensure its validity.

• Fill out the PIAB Form A;
• Submit the completed Form A with detail of your personal injuries* plus an application fee of 45 or €90 Euros;
• PIAB receives your application form and registers your claim;
• PIAB contacts the respondent and gives them 90 days to consent to the assessment or not;
• If the respondent turns down your claim, PIAB issues an Authorization permitting the party to issue legal proceedings;  
• PIAB arranges for a medical assessment(s) of the applicant;
• PIAB concludes their assessment after they are satisfied they have received all necessary documentation;
• If PIAB makes an assessment, which is accepted by all parties, they issue an order to pay.

This book gives guidelines in terms of what can be awarded to an applicant for pain and suffering in a personal injury claim*.

It can be seen here.

After an Applicant has submitted an application form to the Injuries Board, and after a period of time when they complete the processing of the application, they will send a formal notice of the claim to the Respondent (person who caused the accident) and this Respondent then has three months to state whether they consent or not to the Injuries Board assessing the matter.

If the Respondent states they do not consent to the Injuries Board assessing the matter at the outset, an injured party will be issued with an Authorisation, meaning they will be entitled to commence legal proceedings at that time.

If the respondent states they consent to the assessment of the Injuries Board, the Injuries Board will then take nine months to assess the claim.

From our experience it usually takes approximately up to one year from the beginning to end of the process for the assessment to take place, should the Respondent consent to the assessment taking place at the outset.

There is a limit regarding how long an injured person has to initiate a legal action.

This limit is pursuant to the statute of limitations act and if surpassed, it can cause your claim to be whats termed as statute barred from court. One has two years from the date of the accident to initiate the legal action.

The Applicant (injured party) has 28 days to accept or reject the Injuries Board award, and if you don’t reply in this time, it is assumed that you rejected the award.

The Respondent, on the other hand, has 21 days to accept or reject the award, after which if they don’t reply they are deemed to have accepted.

Notification of claim to the wrongdoer or the alleged wrongdoer

The injured party must serve notice in writing, before the expiration of 1 month from the date of the cause of action, or as soon as is practicable thereafter, to the person who caused the accident outlining the nature of the wrong involved etc.

Injuries Board & Medical Negligence* Actions

If a civil action arises from the provision of any health service to a person, the Injuries Board will not deal with this type of claim, and will issue whats termed an Authorisation, which permits the person to initiate legal proceedings.

Please be advised that the above-mentioned material is intended as an overview and as a broad out-line of the topic discussed. It should not be considered as complete and comprehensive legal advice, nor act as an appropriate substitute. Legal advice should be sought from a solicitor prior to relying on anything in this article.

Due care has been taken in the publication of this article and we do not accept legal liability as a result of reliance on any material covered in the above article.

Personal Injuries * In contentious business, a Solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.