Since I will be moving out of the country soon I wanted to know how long does it take to make a compensation claim.
How long does it take to make a compensation claim has changed since 2003 when the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) Act established the Injuries Board Ireland which has seen the time spent on resolving individual claims reduced from three years to approximately nine months.
Before then, there was no fixed time limit for insurance companies to negotiate a settlement which sometimes resulted in compensation claims being dragged out for years. Many cases were in fact settled in the court house, just minutes before a hearing was scheduled.
How long does it take to make a compensation claim also depends on how your solicitor negotiates with the insurance company which he or she can do during the nine month period that it usually takes for the Injuries Board to respond to most claims. Your solicitor may even complete your claim at this point and he or she can also continue to negotiate with the insurance company even if the Injuries Board has already assessed your claim. Only a small percentage of cases are settled by the Injuries Board; the majority are settled out of court through negotiations between your solicitor and the negligent party’s insurers.