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Injuries body can begin motor-claims mediation

The Injuries Resolution Board’s (IRB) mediation service for personal-injury claims has been extended to motor insurance.

The board has been offering the service for employer-liability claims since December last year, and for public-liability injury claims since May this year.

Peter Burke (Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment) has now signed a commencement order to extend the service to the motor sector under the Personal Injuries Resolution Board Act 2022.

Liability

“From today (12 December), the board will offer mediation to both claimants and respondents to facilitate the settlement of motor-liability injury claims,” said the minister.

Mediation allows the IRB to consider cases where liability is not agreed – something it had not been able to do previously.

Solicitor and personal-injury specialist Stuart Gilhooly (HJ Ward) told a Law Society conference earlier this year that there was “a long way to go” to make the IRB mediation process work, but also urged solicitors to “keep an open mind” on the issue.