Public Place Accidents Peak during Summer

A new report from Ireland’s Injury Board has revealed that the month of July saw the highest frequency of accidents resulting in compensation awards, while Saturday proved to be the most dangerous day of the week for public place personal injury accidents.

The Injuries Board is the independent State body in Ireland that makes statutory personal injury (PI) awards in respect of motor, employer and public liability accidents.

The analysis of public liability awards in 2014 also revealed that:

• The average award for a public liability claim was €24,677. The average award for men was €24,275, while women received an average award of €24,859.
• Women are almost twice as likely as men to sustain an injury in a public place, accounting for almost seven out of ten awards (68.9%), while men accounted for the remaining three out of ten (31.1%) cases.
• The awards were generally relatively evenly distributed among the various age groups.
• Slips, trips and falls were the most common accident type.
• The vast majority of awards (84 %) were for under €38,000.
• For the fourth consecutive year, Saturday was the most common day for public place accidents while the least number of accidents occurred on Monday.
• July saw the highest number of accidents resulting in public liability awards, April the lowest.
• Last year the Injuries Board awarded €281m in compensation for personal injury claims and total claims increased by just 1%.
• Of the 12,420 awards made, 17% related to public liability claims, with motor liability representing 75% of awards, and employer liability accounting for the remaining 8%.

“The 2014 figures point to a peak in compensation awards for public place accidents during the summer months,” commented Stephen Watkins, Director of Corporate Services with the Injuries Board.

“This stands to reason as this is a time when children are on school holidays, people take holidays from work, and there are greatly increased numbers of people out and about enjoying the huge range of festivals, sporting events, and outdoor activities taking place throughout the country,” he added.

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