Average payout in whiplashes cases tops €20,000

Average payout in whiplashes cases tops €20,000

The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) awarded over €20,000 on average in whiplash cases in the first six months of 2018.

The average PIAB award was €18,581 in general damages (pain and suffering) plus €1,456 in special damages (medical expenses, loss of earnings, etc), according to figures published for the first time.

Around 71 per cent of personal injury motor cases assessed in the first half of the year were whiplash-related.

The figure for drivers with whiplash-related injuries was 79 per cent of all motor cases, and for passengers the figure was 69 per cent of motor cases.

The average whiplash award for a male was €18,126 in general damages plus €1,460 in special damages and for a female it was €19,016 in general damages plus €1,456 in special damages.

The average whiplash award for a driver was €19,066 in general damages and €1,734 in special damages and for a passenger was €17,026 in general damages and €857 in special damages.

Overall motor awards in numbers are split almost 50/50 between males and females.

Claimants in 55 per cent of whiplash cases received a total award of between €10,000 and €20,000 in total damages. In 88 per cent of whiplash cases, the claimant received a total award of under €30,000.

The average total award for other injuries which did not involve whiplash was higher than the whiplash average. Awards for injuries not classified as whiplash were an average of €27,386 in total. This was made up of €25,060 in general damages and €2,326 in special damages. This is likely to be because those injuries involved fractures or other more serious injuries.

The average total award for all motor cases in this study was €20,472 in general damages and €2,326 in special damages.

Share icon
Share this article: