The number of personal injury cases lodged with the Central Office of the High Court this month is up more than 80 per cent on the same period last year.
Some 1,786 personal injury cases have been lodged this month compared with about 900 in the same 21 days last year, according to the Court Service.
At the same time the chairwoman of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) has strongly advised anyone with a personal injury case to make sure their solicitor is not instituting court proceedings without their instruction to do so.
Ms Dorothea Dowling was reacting to a report in yesterday's Irish Times that the Law Society had written to all solicitors in the State urging them to bring any employer's liability cases to court before June 1st. She said it showed the extent to which solicitors treated personal injury cases as "their feeding trough".
The president of the Law Society, Mr Gerard Griffin, has advised the State's 6,500 solicitors to bring their cases to court in advance of the commencement of the PIAB.
From June 1st all work-injury cases against an employer will have to be first submitted for assessment to the PIAB.
From September the board is also due to start processing all road traffic and public liability claims.
The board has been established to remove from the courts cases where liability is not disputed, to reduce legal costs and the length of time processing such cases.
The Law Society remains strongly opposed to the PIAB. In his letter, Mr Griffin says the PIAB Act, 2003, "forces people seeking compensation for personal injuries into a system that is designed to disadvantage them".
He argues that the board deprives injured parties of advocacy on their behalf - i.e., solicitors and barristers.
Meanwhile, a spokesman told The Irish Times yesterday the Courts Service had noticed "a large increase in the number of personal injury cases being lodged. We would calculate it at about 80 per cent up on the same period last year".
He would not speculate on the reason for the surge.
Ms Dowling said the motive of solicitors was "in regard to fees. Whereas what most people want is to get their case dealt with fairly and quickly and to get on with their lives. The maximum amount of time it will take to process claims at the PIAB will be nine months and most cases won't take that long."
She said once barristers and solicitors got involved in personal injuries cases, the process could take years.
Mr Michael Horan, non-life assurance manager with the Irish Insurance Federation, said he was not surprised at the Law Society's advice to members.
"The PIAB will reduce legal costs while keeping the compensation levels the same. So you can see why the Law Society is against it. I'd say the rush to get cases to court is the last hurrah, eking the last potential for legal costs."
