People seem to think that spurious insurance claims are a victimless crime. It screws us all over. Insurance costs in this country are scandalous, especially for businesses.
I presume council claims are paid from central government rather than an insurance policy. That’s even worse as it takes money directly from the taxpayer.
Banania2020 on
Nice to see that compo culture found another stream of income.
Eviladhesive on
The implication some are taking here is that much of this is a result of spurious claims.
It’s also pretty likely, knowing the way these places are run, that the councils were warned about a lot of the hazards that caused these pay outs and didn’t, for whatever reason, act in time.
vinceswish on
That’s why we can’t have nice things. Insurance and court business are booming at our expense
Loma596 on
Take a walk around Cork some time and you’ll start to believe that not all of these claims are spurious. The state of a lot of the footpaths in the city is genuinely embarrassing, and they are a genuine hazard to the less able.
Life-Pace-4010 on
The Indo uses a picture of a street breakdancer instead of someone who fell. What a rag!
tldrtldrtldr on
I worked at Some American Company for a while. Personally know someone who took the company for the ride and is on a lifetime disability. Took massive insurance payout. Just spending their time on holidays now. Any attempt to inform anyone fell on deaf ears. People simply don’t care as money is flowing
Franz_Werfel on
What will it take to reform the insurance industry in this country?
sieistkaiser on
The vast majority of claims which either settle or go full way to court with the council are legitimate accidents – injury amount the plaintiff is looking for is as always up for debate given our bartering legal system re compensation.
The real issue with these claims is the councils flat out refusal to fix anything which has become a hazard I.e 10 mm lip develops between paving slabs due to improper compaction of subbbase material. Also they get spurious developers to build estates who then carry out works to a poor standard but cannot be checked as their construction is hidden – ever tried to see under a footpath?
Look up misfeasance/nonfeasance re Irish councils.
From reading of the comments so far it’s always the same. People taking newspaper headlines of spurious claims as what is the norm whereas the papers report on what will get eyeballs. The boring things don’t get attention.
RandomGuy2004 on
Half of those were probably Cork City. They messed up badly when replacing all the footpaths in the city.
They’re really nice well done but they used the wrong stone type. Perfect for Spain, but terrible for the Irish climate. Try walking down Patrick Street in heavy rain.
Even MacCurtain Street which was only recently done up is the same as they bought the stone in bulk and need to get rid of it.
ForbesMacAllister3 on
Did that guy who slipped on the ice in RTE ever claim?
Timely_Air8789 on
I had a fall while out running in Cork City a number of years ago. Tripped on a broken footpath. Broke my ankle and had various other sprains and bruises. I made a claim and was awarded damages. It took another full year (so about two years after my accident) for the footpath to be fixed. Council only have themselves to blame.
Jacksonriverboy on
They really need to change the law to de-emphasise a duty of care on the part of councils etc and emphasise a duty on individuals to not be idiots.
DepecheModeFan_ on
If they fixed the fucking footpaths and roads this wouldn’t be as much of an issue. So many of them will be a result of horrible uneven surfaces.
Hundredth1diot on
I know someone (a good woman, young and fit enough) who recently broke her fibula on a broken footpath. She was off work for weeks and now needs physio.
Now I’d be as anti-spurious-claiming as most people for stuff like that Wicklow Mountains hiking bullshit from a few years ago, but IMO people should be able to walk around town without breaking their legs.
Weak_Low_8193 on
At what point do you just say fuck it and jump on the bandwagon considering I’m paying for all these claims anyway.
FrugalVerbage on
I know a lad that did some spatial analysis on the location of claims and the address of claimants for a council. Oddly, it seems that some *cultural* aspects were at play.
If you happened to live on a certain road in fairly dodgy estate you could expect at least one member of your household to slip trip or fall every year. Those incidents could be anywhere except within a few km of the estate.
YoIronFistBro on
All I’ll say is I hope the insurance company that paid the journalist to write this article paid them very handsomely for it.
Melodic-Chocolate-53 on
Both things can be true at the same time, shit footpaths and people trying to game the system.
20 Comments
I was hurt, Sean!
People seem to think that spurious insurance claims are a victimless crime. It screws us all over. Insurance costs in this country are scandalous, especially for businesses.
I presume council claims are paid from central government rather than an insurance policy. That’s even worse as it takes money directly from the taxpayer.
Nice to see that compo culture found another stream of income.
The implication some are taking here is that much of this is a result of spurious claims.
It’s also pretty likely, knowing the way these places are run, that the councils were warned about a lot of the hazards that caused these pay outs and didn’t, for whatever reason, act in time.
That’s why we can’t have nice things. Insurance and court business are booming at our expense
Take a walk around Cork some time and you’ll start to believe that not all of these claims are spurious. The state of a lot of the footpaths in the city is genuinely embarrassing, and they are a genuine hazard to the less able.
The Indo uses a picture of a street breakdancer instead of someone who fell. What a rag!
I worked at Some American Company for a while. Personally know someone who took the company for the ride and is on a lifetime disability. Took massive insurance payout. Just spending their time on holidays now. Any attempt to inform anyone fell on deaf ears. People simply don’t care as money is flowing
What will it take to reform the insurance industry in this country?
The vast majority of claims which either settle or go full way to court with the council are legitimate accidents – injury amount the plaintiff is looking for is as always up for debate given our bartering legal system re compensation.
The real issue with these claims is the councils flat out refusal to fix anything which has become a hazard I.e 10 mm lip develops between paving slabs due to improper compaction of subbbase material. Also they get spurious developers to build estates who then carry out works to a poor standard but cannot be checked as their construction is hidden – ever tried to see under a footpath?
Look up misfeasance/nonfeasance re Irish councils.
From reading of the comments so far it’s always the same. People taking newspaper headlines of spurious claims as what is the norm whereas the papers report on what will get eyeballs. The boring things don’t get attention.
Half of those were probably Cork City. They messed up badly when replacing all the footpaths in the city.
They’re really nice well done but they used the wrong stone type. Perfect for Spain, but terrible for the Irish climate. Try walking down Patrick Street in heavy rain.
Even MacCurtain Street which was only recently done up is the same as they bought the stone in bulk and need to get rid of it.
Did that guy who slipped on the ice in RTE ever claim?
I had a fall while out running in Cork City a number of years ago. Tripped on a broken footpath. Broke my ankle and had various other sprains and bruises. I made a claim and was awarded damages. It took another full year (so about two years after my accident) for the footpath to be fixed. Council only have themselves to blame.
They really need to change the law to de-emphasise a duty of care on the part of councils etc and emphasise a duty on individuals to not be idiots.
If they fixed the fucking footpaths and roads this wouldn’t be as much of an issue. So many of them will be a result of horrible uneven surfaces.
I know someone (a good woman, young and fit enough) who recently broke her fibula on a broken footpath. She was off work for weeks and now needs physio.
Now I’d be as anti-spurious-claiming as most people for stuff like that Wicklow Mountains hiking bullshit from a few years ago, but IMO people should be able to walk around town without breaking their legs.
At what point do you just say fuck it and jump on the bandwagon considering I’m paying for all these claims anyway.
I know a lad that did some spatial analysis on the location of claims and the address of claimants for a council. Oddly, it seems that some *cultural* aspects were at play.
If you happened to live on a certain road in fairly dodgy estate you could expect at least one member of your household to slip trip or fall every year. Those incidents could be anywhere except within a few km of the estate.
All I’ll say is I hope the insurance company that paid the journalist to write this article paid them very handsomely for it.
Both things can be true at the same time, shit footpaths and people trying to game the system.