Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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298. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the recommendation of the first report of the personal injuries commission that the Quebec task force whiplash associated disorder grading scale which can be used in an Irish context; and the main features of this system. [53681/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The First Report of the Personal Injuries Commission was approved by Government on 5 December 2017.  The establishment of the Personal Injuries Commission (PIC), chaired by Justice Nicholas Kearns, was one of the key recommendations in the Cost of Insurance Working Group Report on the Cost of Motor Insurance published in January 2017.

Since its establishment in January 2017, the Personal Injuries Commission has been actively engaged in delivering in accordance with the terms of reference of its work. A considerable amount of research into approaches in other jurisdictions has been carried out along with a consultation exercise with the medical community and key stakeholder groups.

This research and consultation has informed the key findings of the Commission’s First Report. The Commission suggest that adopting a standardised and internationally recognised approach to the diagnosis, treatment and report of soft tissue injuries, by medical practitioners who are appropriately competent and trained in the completion of personal injury medical reports, will improve the personal injuries environment in Ireland. This standardised approach should be along the lines of South Australia Clinical guidelines for best practice management of acute and chronic Whiplash Associated Disorder.

The Whiplash Associated Disorder (WAD) scale as developed by the Quebec Task Force (QTF) is an internationally recognised objective classification scale based on severity of symptoms and associated physical signs indicative of the seriousness of the injury sustained.  It comprises of five grades:

- Grade  0 (WAD 0) - no neck pain, stiffness, or any physical signs are noticed

- Grade 1 (WAD I) - neck complaints of pain, stiffness/tenderness but no physical signs

- Grade  2 (WAD II) - neck complaints and decreased range of motion and local tenderness in the neck

- Grade 3 (WAD III) - neck complaints plus neurological signs

- Grade 4 (WAD IV) - neck complaints and fracture, dislocation, or injury to the spinal cord.

The scale seeks to provide an objective basis for diagnosing whiplash.  It allows medical practitioners to classify patients’ injuries according to their level of severity.  This classification helps determine the type and extent of medical care patients will likely need to effectively treat the injuries and accompanying pain and discomfort.

The Personal Injuries Commission has included a medical reporting template in the Report to be used by all examining medical professionals in all relevant cases.

The Personal Injuries Commission has recognised that there are significant advantages in adopting the WAD scale in Ireland as it has been validated by research and is internationally used and recognised.