Glossary

Checked 14 October 2026against the Acts, the Board's pages and the Personal Injuries Guidelines.

The terms that come up at the Board, in the Guidelines and in court, each in a sentence or two, with the page to read next.

Injuries Resolution Board (PIAB, the Injuries Board): The State body that assesses most personal injury claims in Ireland before any court case: one body with three names. The Personal Injuries Assessment Board is the statutory name; the 2022 Act gave it the trading name Injuries Resolution Board; PIAB is what people search. One body, three names
Claimant: The injured person who applies to the Board. In court the same person is the plaintiff.
Respondent: The person, business or body the claim is made against: a driver, a shop, an employer, a council, a dog owner, or the MIBI. In court, the defendant. A claim has been made against me
Formal Notice: The letter the Board serves on the respondent after an application, with a copy of the medical report, asking whether they consent to assessment, mediation, both or neither within 90 days. The respondent's 90 days
Authorisation: The document the Board issues when it will not or cannot assess a claim, or when an assessment is rejected: it allows the claimant to bring court proceedings. The limitation clock resumes six months after it issues. How the application pauses the clock
Notice of Assessment: The Board's written assessment of the damages, sent to both sides. The claimant has 28 days to accept or reject it and the respondent 21; silence is rejection for the claimant and acceptance for the respondent. Accept or reject: 28 days
Order to Pay: Issued by the Board when both sides accept an assessment or a mediated agreement survives the cooling-off period. It has the same standing as a court order. The Board, start to finish
General damages: Compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity, which the Personal Injuries Guidelines bracket. The Board and the courts must have regard to the Guidelines. The Guidelines explained
Special damages: The financial losses: loss of earnings, medical and travel expenses, care, future treatment, damaged property. They are added to general damages and must be vouched with receipts, payslips and letters. Special damages
Personal Injuries Guidelines: The Judicial Council's brackets for general damages by injury and severity, adopted on 6 March 2021 under the Judicial Council Act 2019. They replaced the Book of Quantum for claims not assessed before 24 April 2021. An amended edition with higher figures is approved but not in force. The injury checker
Book of Quantum: The Board's earlier guide to award levels, last revised in 2016. It applies only to proceedings begun before the Guidelines took effect, which is why old figures still appear in searches. The Book of Quantum and the 16.7%
Date of knowledge: The date a person first knew they were injured, that the injury was significant, that it was attributable to the act or omission complained of, and who the defendant is. The two years run from this date where it is later than the accident. The two-year limit
Section 8 letter (the one-month letter): The written notice of the wrong that section 8 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 requires within one month of the cause of action. Late without reasonable cause, the court draws inferences and may refuse or reduce costs. The one-month letter
Section 51A (the costs rule): Where a claimant rejects an assessment the respondent accepted and the court awards no more, no costs order can be made in the claimant's favour and the respondent is treated as having tendered the assessment on the date it accepted. Accept or reject explained
Deemed tender (lodgment): An offer the law treats as made: under section 51A the respondent is deemed to have tendered the assessment amount. A lodgment is a payment into court with the same effect. A claimant who does not beat it usually pays the defendant's costs from that date.
Mediation (at the Board): The Board's free service since 2023: an independent mediator, usually by telephone, helps both sides reach a written agreement, with a ten-day cooling-off period before an Order to Pay issues. It averages three months. Mediation at the Board
Cooling-off period: The ten days after a mediated agreement in which either side can withdraw in writing. If neither does, the Board issues an Order to Pay.
Form B (the medical report): The Board's Medical Assessment Form, completed by the treating doctor or GP. An application cannot be assessed without it; the doctor's fee can be recovered in the award. The medical report
Next friend: The adult, usually a parent or guardian, who makes a claim for a child. Any assessment or settlement for a child must be approved by a court. Children and late claims
MIBI (Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland): The body that compensates victims of uninsured and untraced drivers under an agreement with the State. A claim is notified on its Claim Notification Form and still goes through the Board. The MIBI
Injury Benefit: The Department of Social Protection's weekly payment for an employee unfit for work after an accident at work or on the way to or from it, from the fourth day for up to 26 weeks. A respondent must repay the Department for it out of the claim. Injury Benefit and Disablement Benefit
Disablement Benefit: A payment where an accident at work or an occupational disease leaves a loss of physical or mental faculty, assessed as a percentage.
Recoverable benefits: Under the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2013 a respondent must repay the Department for welfare payments made because of the injury. The Notice of Assessment sets out the amounts; they are not deducted from the claimant's general damages.
Whiplash (soft-tissue neck injury): The commonest injury the Board assesses: a soft-tissue injury to the neck from a sudden movement. The Guidelines bracket it by recovery period and carry a paragraph on scrutinising such claims. Whiplash and neck injuries
Verifying affidavit: The sworn statement a claimant must make in a court action under section 14 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004, confirming the claim is true.
Section 26 (false or misleading evidence): A court must dismiss a personal injuries action where the claimant knowingly gave false or misleading evidence in a material respect, unless dismissal would cause injustice. Exaggeration ends genuine claims. Exaggerated and false claims
Contributory negligence: Where the injured person's own carelessness contributed to the injury, a court reduces the damages by a percentage. The Board assesses on the assumption of full liability and does not decide this.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal: The State scheme for victims of crimes of violence, with a two-year absolute application limit. It historically paid expenses and loss only; it is being amended in 2026 to cover pain and suffering. The Criminal Injuries scheme
Garda compensation scheme: The scheme under the Garda Síochána (Compensation) Act 2022 for members injured maliciously on duty: an application to the Commissioner within six months, then assessment by the Board.
Section 149 (no percentage fees): Section 149 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 forbids a solicitor charging personal-injury fees as a percentage of the damages, and every personal-injury advertisement must refer to it. Solicitor fees and section 149
LSRA (Legal Services Regulatory Authority): The regulator of solicitors' and barristers' advertising, among other things. Its 2020 Advertising Regulations forbid solicitors soliciting personal injury claims, quoting success rates, or using the phrases people search for.
HSA (Health and Safety Authority): The State body for workplace safety. An employer must report an accident that keeps an employee off work for more than three days to it, and the HSA can inspect. Accident at work
NCID (National Claims Information Database): The Central Bank's database of insurance claims, reported each year: what claims cost and how long they take settled directly, through the Board, or litigated. The figures register
Occupiers' liability: The duty a shop, pub, landlord or other occupier owes under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1995 to visitors, and the lesser duty to recreational users and trespassers. A fall in a shop