Moloney Solicitors are a specialist Personal Injury Law Firm representing injured road traffic accident victims in Ireland today. Over 70% of all personal injury motor cases assessed by the Injuries Board in 2017 were whiplash related. The average Injuries Board award for a whiplash case was €18,581.00 damages for pain and suffering plus €1,456.00 for Special Damages (payments for medical expenses, loss of earnings etc)
The average whiplash award for a male was €18,126.00 and for a female €19,016.00. Overall motor awards in numbers are split almost 50/50 between males and females.
The Injuries Board makes its awards in line with current levels of personal injuries compensation in Ireland today. Speaking about the risk factors for whiplash injuries Liam Moloney Personal Injury Solicitor said “it is a known fact that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has a role to play in the prognosis for whiplash injuries. There are many risk factors for a poor outcome following a whiplash injury such as:-
• Failure by a road traffic accident victim to wear a safety belt
• The number and severity of previous symptoms
• Pre and post-injury lower back pain
• Post-injury headaches
• neuropathic and sciatic pain
He added, “when doctors are preparing medico-legal reports in Ireland it is important that they consider these crash-related factors and also the degree of injury sustained”.
MRI and CT scanning of the cervical cord in road traffic accident victims should always be done as it has been shown to be very helpful in determining long term prognosis. They are also useful tools in the diagnosis of spinal injuries and help in diagnosing injuries such as disc-bulging protrusions and prolapse”.
He continued “no compensation claim for soft tissue injuries should ever be settled without the client having undergone MRI and CT scanning to establish the true extent of the injury. In Ireland, once a claim is settled it is settled for good and there is no provision for a claimant to come back to Court or an insurance company to seek additional compensation.”
If you have been in an accident and wish to speak to one of our specialist Personal Injury Solicitors please feel free to contact our firm today at info@moloneysoliictors.ie or call 045 – 898000.
