Whiplash claim values
in Ireland.

• No statutory cap on general damages
  Personal injury (general)
  Bands set by PIAG; courts apply the same bands

  There is no statutory cap; the Guidelines themselves set the upper bands. The Supreme Court has indicated upper-band figures should be applied conservatively.

1. 1
   Letter of claim

   Section 8 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 requires a formal letter of claim to be served within two months of the cause of action accruing.

2. 2
   Application to PIAB

   A claimant submits Form A together with a medical report. PIAB notifies the respondent and gathers responses.

3. 3
   PIAB assessment

   PIAB makes a written assessment of damages without a contested hearing. Most cases are assessed within 9 months.

4. 4
   Acceptance or rejection

   Either side has 28 days (claimant) or 21 days (respondent) to accept or reject. Rejection results in an Authorisation to issue court proceedings.

5. 5
   Court proceedings

   If proceedings issue, they are commenced in the Circuit Court (≤€60,000) or High Court for higher-value claims.

6. 6
   Mediation and settlement

   The Mediation Act 2017 encourages mediation; many cases settle at the door of the court.

7. 7
   Trial

   Bench trial only, there is no civil jury for personal-injury actions in Ireland (Courts Act 1988).

Irish courts value neck injuries by how long recovery takes. A driver rear ended at a Tralee roundabout in 2018 received €37,500 for a soft tissue neck injury, though surgery two years later was found not to be caused by the crash. A driver in a minor rear end collision in Finglas received €65,000 including her PTSD, assessed against Book of Quantum era awards because the accident was in 2017.

• Keogh v O’Keeffe
  High Court · 2025
  €38,800

  On 27 September 2018 the plaintiff was slowly exiting Castlemorris Roundabout in Tralee when he was rear ended; liability was admitted. A&E diagnosed a soft tissue injury to the neck, and he later had neck pain radiating into his left arm. The court found that surgery in September 2020 for right sided symptoms was not caused by the accident, so its cost was not recoverable. General damages were €37,500, with €1,300 special damages.

• Sykula v O’Reilly
  High Court · 2025
  €90,000

  In a relatively minor rear end collision near traffic lights in Finglas on 9 December 2017, the plaintiff was hurt; six years later she still reported physical symptoms and PTSD, and had lost her job. Liability was accepted. Drawing on Book of Quantum era awards for mild to moderate PTSD and neck and lower back injuries, the court awarded €65,000 general damages plus €25,000 agreed special damages and lost earnings.

• How much is a whiplash claim worth in Ireland?

  The band table on this page shows whiplash values in Ireland by severity. The most severe matching band is €12,000 to €23,000, from the Personal Injuries Guidelines, Judicial Council (2021). The exact figure within the band depends on severity, prognosis, recovery time, the medical paper trail, and any percentage of fault attributed to the claimant under Ireland's comparative-fault rule.
• What is the statute of limitations for whiplash claims in Ireland?

  2 years from date of injury or date of knowledge. Source: Statute of Limitations 1957, s.3 as amended. Time runs from the later of the date of injury and the date of knowledge. Time pauses while a claim is before PIAB and resumes on issue of an authorisation to proceed to court.
• Does fault allocation reduce a whiplash settlement in Ireland?

  Civil Liability Act 1961, s.34, reduction by percentage of fault. No bar threshold. Reductions are calculated as a percentage of the total damages award before any cap is applied.
• Are there caps on whiplash damages in Ireland?

  Yes — Ireland applies the following caps that bear on whiplash claims: No statutory cap on general damages. See the caps section on this page for the figures and the conditions under which each applies.
• How long does a Ireland whiplash case take to resolve?

  Soft-tissue presentations commonly resolve within 6 to 12 months from medical stability. Complex cases with surgery or contested liability routinely take 18 to 36 months. Cases that proceed to trial commonly take 2 to 5 years. The procedural pathway on this page sets out the typical milestones in Ireland.
• Is settlement preferable to trial for a whiplash claim in Ireland?

  For most Ireland whiplash claimants, yes. The vast majority of personal-injury cases settle before trial. Settlement provides certainty, removes appeal risk, and resolves faster. Trial is appropriate where liability is genuinely contested or where the defendant's insurer is unrealistic about quantum given the published authority.