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All content © John Higgins 2002-2006 Cork, Ireland

PIAB: A Time of Opportunity.

(This is the full text of an Article by John Higgins printed in the Broker Magazine in June 2004)

By the time you read this the Personal Injury Assessment Board (PIAB) will be up and running. They will as promised be very accessible, being open from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday to take calls. Early May proved a busy time as Claims people attended a round of meetings and learned at last some of the detail about how this process would work. There was widespread belief that the 90 days for a respondent to accept the involvement of PIAB was sensible. There is also a strong sense of determination that none of this time should be wasted.

Employers to whom we call are excited about this development and are very anxious to know how it will work in practice. Mr Ken Murphy (Law Society) speaking recently on the lunchtime news said that all claimants should consult with their solicitor before presenting a claim to the PIAB. PIAB (www.piab.ie) on the other hand state, “In most instances claimants should have little difficulty filling in the PIAB form and should not, therefore, require assistance apart from their doctor’s report.” Hoteliers and others are calling for an immediate extension into PL and Motor claims. We are told by PIAB that this is likely to happen in September. For the moment however it is EL cases only and all parties on the “Respondent” side will need to work hard to make this new initiative work.

Health and safety legislation already requires that detailed accident reporting structures be put in place at all workplaces. All accidents leading to three days' absence from work must be reported to the Health and Safety Authority. Brokers will have a vital role in ensuring that clients are aware of what must be notified to insurers and when. They will need to work with clients and insurers to ensure that good structures are in place even before accidents occur. When accidents occur, the best advice in most cases is to notify as this will give an opportunity to investigate early and before time limits begin to apply.

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Employees are asked as part of their submission to PIAB to include a copy of a communication with their employer notifying them of their intention to claim. It should (a) notify a claim and (b) seek compensation. Any communication of this nature should be seen as an indicator that the claim may be bound for the PIAB and prompt notification to insurers is essential.

When they have the documents from the claimant, PIAB will issue a notice under Section 13 advising of the application and inviting the employer to agree to an assessment. If the employer or his insurer wishes to accept he must do so within 90 days. If the employer does nothing in the 90 days the case will automatically go for assessment. Detailed investigation at this stage will be essential. It will be vital to identify all parties to an incident so that appropriate steps can be taken. Investigators will need to identify cases where technical statutory and common law duties are likely to mean that a case would fail in court. It is important that cases that should go for assessment are allowed to do so. It is equally important that cases that should not go for assessment are identified. If there are serious issues of concern for the client, these need to be brought out at this early stage. Again Brokers will have a vital role in ensuring that communication at this stage is everything it should be.

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If assessment of the case is not accepted an Authorisation will issue allowing the claimant to proceed to the courts. Insurers will wish to examine the implications for costs in the making of any such decision. The issues will have to be carefully examined and investigated as fully as possible. It may well be that the issues of concern can be dealt with within the PIAB process. In particular, the respondent can express doubts about medical aspects of the claim. Section 25 effectively says that if the respondent has expressed doubts or suspicions and the claimant refuses to attend a medical, PIAB should proceed on the basis that the doubts are correct and assess the claim on that basis. PIAB can also make any relevant enquiries with bodies such as the Revenue Commissioners.

One of the most important provisions in this legislation and in the PIAB rules is the emphasis placed on the freedom of the parties to reach settlement between themselves at any stage in the process. Following detailed early investigation and accelerated communication between the parties on the Respondent side, there should be great clarity about likely outcomes. These will be even clearer when the Book of Quantum issues. This clarity will in some cases lead to early intervention and the best possible outcomes for all concerned. There can be no doubt that this process represents an opportunity for this industry and it’s clients. There is also a sense of responsibility to make it work that we believe will become very evident in the coming months.

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