Mr. Declan O'Rourke:

Yes. There was an argument that they wanted to get back more quickly. A private clinic tries to get people to have an MRI and one has to tell them an X-ray is fine as it is not so serious. We sought the view of our claims managers throughout Europe of what would happen in their country. In comparison to the 17,500 whiplash cases in Ireland, there were 4,100 in the UK and the legal fees were €932. A lawyer needs to find ten broken fingers in the UK to pay for one in Ireland. Germany has more people in its court system and not so much of it is outsourced to lawyers but the injury value was €1,500 while legal fees were €250. In a men's shed, a broken finger is a common injury and the book of quantum has to change as regards these awards.