Personal injuries claims in the District Court: the Injuries Resolution Board first, then up to €15,000

A personal injuries claim is the one civil claim that cannot go straight to any court. The Personal Injuries Resolution Board Act 2003, as amended in 2022, requires every claim for damages for personal injury to go first to the Injuries Resolution Board (the body called PIAB until 2024), and only with the Board's authorisation can proceedings be issued. The District Court then hears claims up to €15,000; it received 1,087 in 2025. This guide explains the Board stage, the two-year limit and how the Board affects it, what the District Court can award and under what guidelines, how the claim is issued and served, the hearing, costs, and the Circuit Court above the limit. The page explains the lawful route and nothing else.

The small claims checker confirms that an injury claim cannot use the Small Claims procedure and points to this route.

Step one: the Injuries Resolution Board

The Board is a statutory body, not a court. You apply to it, with a medical report from your treating doctor and the details of the accident and the respondent, and pay its application fee. The Board notifies the respondent, who has 90 days to consent to an assessment. If the respondent consents, the Board assesses the claim on the papers and any independent medical examination it arranges, and issues an assessment of damages within a target of nine months. The 2022 Act added a mediation service alongside the assessment.

Each side can accept or reject the assessment. If both accept, the Board issues an order to pay and the claim ends without court. If the respondent does not consent to an assessment, or either side rejects the assessment, the Board issues an authorisation, and that document is the key to the courthouse door: no personal injuries proceedings can be issued without it.

A claimant who rejects an assessment and then does less well in court can be penalised in costs, so the figure the Board produces is weighed carefully before it is turned down.

The two years, and how the Board stops the clock

The limitation period for personal injuries is two years from the date of the accident, or from the date you first knew of the injury and who caused it, a figure the Courts Service asks you to verify against the Statute of Limitations for your own case. Two features of the Board process matter to it:

• The period stops running from the date the Board acknowledges your application and starts again six months after the date of the authorisation. That protects a claimant whose application sits with the Board close to the deadline.
• The Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 requires a claimant to notify the respondent in writing of the claim within a short period after the accident; a late letter does not bar the claim but the court can take it into account on costs.

Apply to the Board well inside the two years; the stopped clock is a safety net, not a plan.

Which court

The amount is the total of general damages (for the injury itself: pain, suffering, loss of amenity) and special damages (out-of-pocket expenses, lost earnings, treatment costs). Since 2021 the Judicial Council's Personal Injuries Guidelines set the ranges of general damages for each kind of injury, and both the Board and the courts are bound to have regard to them. Minor soft-tissue injuries that resolve within months now fall in ranges that place many claims within the District Court's limit, which is why the District Court's personal injuries list has grown.

A claim issued in a court above its proper level can be sent down with costs consequences; a claim worth more than €15,000 cannot be heard in the District Court.

Issuing the claim in the District Court

With the authorisation, the claim is issued at the District Court office for the district where the respondent lives or carries on business, or where the accident happened, using the personal injuries claim notice under the District Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2014; the form is on the Courts Service forms page, and find a court gives the office. The fee for a claim notice for damages is €80 under the Court Fees Schedule of 8 September 2025.

The claim notice must set out, as the 2004 Act requires, full particulars: the accident, the injuries, the negligence alleged, each item of special damage, and the authorisation number. It must be verified by an affidavit sworn by the claimant that the contents are true; a false statement is an offence and can lead to the whole claim being dismissed. That verification requirement is what makes a personal injuries claim different from an ordinary debt claim, and why precision in the particulars matters.

The notice is served on the respondent by registered post or in person, with a statutory declaration of service filed, in the same way as any District Court claim; the claim guide describes service and the respondent's 28 days to enter an appearance and defence. In a personal injuries claim the respondent's defence must also be verified by affidavit, and it must say which allegations are admitted and which denied.

Before the hearing

Expect exchanges of documents before the date: medical reports on each side, the Board's file, receipts for special damages, and sometimes an engineer's report on the locus. The respondent's insurer may ask you to attend a medical examination by its doctor; the rules allow it. Settlement discussions are common at every stage, and a settlement can be ruled by the court so that it is enforceable.

Bring to court: your medical reports and the doctors who wrote them where their evidence is contested, photographs of the scene and the injuries, receipts for every item of special damage, proof of lost earnings from your employer, and any witness to the accident. The court day checklist builds the list.

The hearing

The claim is heard in public on a civil day. You give evidence on oath about the accident and the injury, are cross-examined, and call your witnesses; the respondent does the same. Medical evidence is given by the doctors, or on an agreed report where the parties consent. The judge decides on the balance of probabilities whether the respondent was negligent, whether any fault lies with you (contributory negligence reduces the award by a percentage), and what the damages are, having regard to the Guidelines. The decision is given from the bench with reasons.

The court may award damages up to €15,000, dismiss the claim, or find for the claimant with a reduction for contributory negligence.

Costs

Costs follow the event: the losing side can be ordered to pay the other's costs on the District Court scale, plus court fees, medical report fees and witness expenses. Two particular rules apply in personal injuries claims. A claimant who rejected a Board assessment and recovers no more than it in court can be refused costs or ordered to pay the respondent's. And a respondent who made a formal offer (a tender or lodgment) that the claimant did not beat can recover its costs from the date of the offer. Both rules push the parties to take the Board's figure and each other's offers seriously.

Appeals and enforcement

Either side can appeal to the Circuit Court within 14 days with a €25 fee, for a full rehearing. An award that is not paid is enforced like any District Court decree; most respondents are insured, and the insurer pays. Where the respondent is uninsured and cannot pay, the instalment orders guide explains the examination of means; for an uninsured motorist, the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland scheme may apply.

Where this leaves you

Apply to the Injuries Resolution Board as soon as you have a medical report, inside the two years, and keep every receipt from the day of the accident. If the Board issues an authorisation and the damages are within €15,000, the District Court claim notice, verified on affidavit, is the next step; the claim guide covers the procedure that follows. Run any doubt about which route applies through the small claims checker. Civil legal aid from the Legal Aid Board does not cover personal injuries claims; the Free Legal Advice Centres give free initial advice, and the small claims guide explains what the Small Claims procedure does cover where your loss is to property rather than to yourself.