New regulations are being introduced from today (Friday 1st August) which will affect settlements of personal injury compensation in Ireland when a plaintiff is in receipt of certain social welfare payments.
Following the passage of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act last year, the Department of Social Protection has introduced the “Recovery of Certain Benefits and Assistance Scheme”, which will enable it to reclaim certain welfare payments when a plaintiff makes a successful claim for personal injury compensation in Ireland.
The scheme aims to prevent plaintiffs from being “doubly compensated” and runs along the lines of a similar program in the UK and the North in which a statement is issued to a compensator – usually an insurance company – which sets out any recoverable benefits that have been paid to a plaintiff for the same accident or injury.
The compensator then deducts the amount of welfare payments from the compensation settlement that the plaintiff is due to receive, and refunds them to the Department of Social Protection. The plaintiff (or their solicitor) and the Injuries Board (where applicable) will also receive a copy of the statement which relates to payments received for the following benefits:
- Illness Benefit
- Partial Capacity Benefit
- Injury Benefit
- Incapacity Supplement
- Invalidity Pension
- Disability Allowance
The deduction of welfare payments from settlements of personal injury compensation in Ireland is not the responsibility of the plaintiff, nor does the receipt of the above-mentioned benefits exclude a plaintiff from claiming compensation for an injury due to somebody else´s negligence.
Indeed it is important that plaintiffs check their copy of the benefits statement to ensure that it is accurate and that deductions made from settlements of personal injury compensation in Ireland are relevant to their injury do not include any forward-forecast benefits that they may be entitled to in the future.
Unless plaintiffs are entirely confident that assessments of injury compensation – and deductions made from them – are appropriate for the extent of their injuries, their loss of income and loss of amenity, proposed settlements of personal injury compensation in Ireland should always be referred to a solicitor.