The Injuries Resolution Board now has a mediation service offering and I experienced it for the first time last week.
The two options up to now if you had a personal injury claim was to accept the assessment by the Injuries Resolution Board and hope that the respondent also accepted it. If that happened an Order to Pay was made and your personal injury claim was finalised.
If the assessment was not accepted, then a Letter of Authorisation was issued which permitted you to bring legal proceedings to pursue your claim.
This mediation service is a third option and mediation can be tremendously effective if it is done well and the parties are willing.
Many claimants in personal injury claims do not understand how long and protracted the process can be. And by the time mediation is offered they can be willing and enthusiastic participants, giving rise to a good chance of settling the claim.
Learn more about personal injury claims in Ireland here.