Workplace Injury Compensation in Ireland: How Much Can You Claim?
Checked December 2025
This guide explains how workplace injury compensation is valued in Ireland using the Personal Injuries Guidelines and Injuries Resolution Board data, so you can see what similar injuries have attracted before you decide what to do next.
In many Irish workplace cases, overall compensation (general damages plus financial losses) falls somewhere between about €15,000 and €80,000+, with serious or life-changing injuries sometimes reaching several hundred thousand euro.
- The Judicial Council's Personal Injuries Guidelines set a band for your type of injury.
- Your wage loss, medical expenses and future impact are added on top.
- There is no fixed tariff. Two workers in the same accident can have different outcomes.
Important: This page gives general information only. It is not legal or tax advice. Compensation always depends on your exact injuries, your recovery and your financial losses. There is no guarantee of any specific outcome or amount. For tailored advice, speak with a qualified solicitor.
Summary
Workplace injury compensation in Ireland is usually valued by combining a Guidelines-based figure for pain and suffering with your documented financial losses. Most straightforward claims settle somewhere between about €15,000 and €80,000+, with serious injuries sometimes reaching several hundred thousand euro.
Decision-makers use the Judicial Council's Personal Injuries Guidelines and assessments from the Injuries Resolution Board as key reference points, while also looking at liability, contributory negligence, time limits and any social welfare or tax interaction.
When I talk to clients, I usually start with this overview before we look at their specific figures and documents.
At a Glance: Workplace Injury Compensation in Ireland
Short answer
Most Irish workplace injury claims settle between €15,000 and €80,000+, but serious or life-changing injuries can reach several hundred thousand euro.
The core starting point is the Judicial Council's Personal Injuries Guidelines, plus your lost earnings and other out-of-pocket losses.
The exact figure depends on where your injuries fall within the Guidelines bands, how long your symptoms last, your age, your work and any long-term restrictions or scarring.
In my experience, most people want a ballpark range like this first and then a more careful breakdown once we have the paperwork.
Workplace injury compensation snapshot in Ireland 2019-2024
In recent years, Injuries Resolution Board annual reports have recorded tens of thousands of personal injury applications across all accident types, with awards totaling hundreds of millions of euro. Employer liability claims, which include many accidents at work, make up a significant share of these applications.
Since the Personal Injuries Guidelines came into force in 2021, overall award levels for minor and moderate injuries have generally reduced compared with the old Book of Quantum. Serious and catastrophic injury awards can still be very substantial, especially where long-term earning capacity is affected.
These national figures give context only. Your own workplace claim will turn on your injury, your earnings and your evidence, not the average case. In practice, I find that putting your own situation against these national trends helps people decide whether an offer feels low or high.
How workplace injury compensation is actually valued
Irish courts, insurers and the Injuries Resolution Board all start from the same place when valuing a workplace injury.
1. General damages (pain, suffering and impact on life)
The Personal Injuries Guidelines group injuries by body part and by severity. Each group has a euro range from minor through to severe. A clerk's minor wrist sprain with full recovery sits at the lower end of one band. A construction worker with permanent grip loss lands higher.
Key points:
- The same bands apply whether the accident happened at work, on the road or in a shop.
- Minor soft-tissue injuries with full recovery usually attract lower five-figure sums or less.
- Long-term or life-changing injuries can justify significantly higher awards within the band.
2. Special damages (your financial losses)
On top of the Guidelines figure, you can usually claim for your actual money losses, such as:
- Past and future loss of earnings or overtime.
- Medical treatment, scans, physio and prescriptions.
- Travel to appointments, equipment and home help.
In many work cases, special damages make up a large part of the total settlement, especially if you cannot return to your old job or your hours are cut. In practice, I often see the biggest disagreements around reduced earning capacity and future loss, rather than the basic Guidelines figure.
Plain English version: the Guidelines give a fair range for your type of injury. Your payslips, medical records and receipts do the rest.
Example compensation bands for common work injuries
Every case is different, but it can help to see how Irish decision-makers often treat typical workplace injuries. The table below uses ranges inspired by the Personal Injuries Guidelines as a rough pointer only, not fixed promises.
| Injury type (work example) | Severity and recovery | Indicative Guidelines band* (general damages) |
|---|---|---|
| Back soft-tissue injury (lifting boxes, slipping on a wet floor) | Good recovery inside 12-24 months, no surgery | Roughly €6,000 - €20,000 |
| Serious back injury (disc lesion from fall from height) | Ongoing pain, limits heavy work, maybe surgery | Roughly €40,000 - €90,000 |
| Shoulder or rotator cuff tear (repetitive overhead work, manual handling) | Lasting restriction, struggle with heavy or overhead work | Roughly €25,000 - €70,000 |
| Hand injury (machinery incident, crush or amputation of fingertip) | Permanent dexterity issues or partial loss | Roughly €20,000 - €100,000+ depending on severity |
| Psychological injury (PTSD after a serious workplace accident) | Moderate to severe work-related trauma | Roughly €20,000 - €80,000+ |
| Catastrophic injury (for example, spinal cord injury at work) | Lifetime care needs and loss of independence | General damages can run to several hundred thousand euro, plus very large special damages |
*Final figures depend on the exact band in the official Personal Injuries Guidelines, your age, job, symptoms, recovery and medical evidence.
From files I see each week, these bands are a fair reflection of how the Guidelines are applied in real workplace cases.
Lost earnings, sick pay, tax and welfare: what really ends up in your pocket
Two people with the same injury can walk away with very different overall figures. The main reason is usually income and benefits, not just the Guidelines band.
Loss of earnings and future loss
If you cannot work for a period, or you have to reduce your hours or change job, you can usually claim:
- Net wages you lost while off work.
- Loss of overtime, bonuses or on-call allowances.
- Reduced earnings in the future if you cannot do the same work.
Where long-term loss is likely, a solicitor may use a multiplicand times multiplier style approach. That means looking at your annual net loss and the years it may continue, adjusted for uncertainties and any Reddy-style discount for accelerated receipt. In practice, I often see insurers accept the headline Guidelines band, but push back hard on how long loss of earnings will really last.
Injury Benefit and other social welfare payments
If you receive Injury Benefit or other payments, the defendant may get credit for some of that in the final settlement, depending on the scheme. You still need to claim them when you are out of work, but your solicitor will factor them into the figures.
The State also runs a wider Occupational Injuries Scheme, which can include Disablement Benefit and, in fatal cases, certain Death Benefit payments where the accident happened in the course of employment or on a direct journey to or from work. These welfare entitlements sit alongside, not instead of, any civil claim against an employer or another party, but the interaction has to be handled carefully so that you do not end up repaying sums later.
Is workplace injury compensation taxable?
In general, genuine personal injury damages in Ireland are not subject to income tax. However, Revenue guidance explains situations where tax issues can arise, for example where structured settlements produce investment income or where a payment replaces taxable earnings over time.
Takeaway: your overall settlement is what matters. Two workers in the same accident can see very different net figures once pay, welfare and tax are accounted for.
Workplace-specific factors that move your compensation figure up or down
Irish law does not automatically award compensation just because an accident happened on a work site. Employers have a duty of care, but the court still asks whether the accident was an avoidable consequence of poor safety standards or an everyday mishap that could have happened anywhere.
Negligence and everyday mishaps
In recent employer-liability decisions, the courts have stressed that businesses are not insurers for every accident. If a simple, everyday mishap happens in work with no real negligence, the claim can fail even though the injury is real.
On the other hand, where the evidence shows poor systems, missing training, damaged equipment or ignored warnings, liability is much stronger and the focus returns to how much compensation is fair.
Contributory negligence (partly your own fault)
If you were partly to blame, your compensation can be reduced. Examples include:
- Not wearing provided PPE.
- Ignoring a clear safety instruction or warning sign.
- Rushing a task in a way that adds obvious risk.
A modest slip in judgement might attract a 10-20 percent reduction. More serious departures can reduce the figure further. From my files, contributory negligence percentages are often a major negotiation point, rather than something a judge simply imposes at the end.
Pre-existing conditions and aggravation
You can still claim if you had a bad back, shoulder or mental health history before the accident. The law focuses on the worsening caused by the work incident, not your starting point. Medical reports usually distinguish between your pre-accident status and the change caused by the accident.
Practical tip: always tell your doctor and solicitor about any previous injuries. Hiding them nearly always harms a claim more than the condition itself. From what I see day to day, honesty about older problems tends to strengthen your position rather than weaken it.
Case examples from Irish workplaces (anonymised)
Real cases turn on fine detail, but these anonymised examples show how the same Guidelines can play out very differently once work history and earnings are factored in.
Retail back injury: A shop worker strains their lower back when lifting stock. They are off work for eight weeks and then return on light duties. With a good recovery expected inside a year, the case might sit in a minor back injury band, with a modest period of wage loss and treatment costs on top.
Healthcare shoulder injury: A healthcare assistant develops a serious shoulder problem after repeated manual handling and eventually needs surgery. There is a long rehab period and they may not return to heavy lifting. Here, shoulder injury bands and a more substantial future loss figure can push the overall value much higher.
Construction fall from height: A construction worker falls from scaffolding and suffers multiple fractures. Long-term restrictions mean they cannot go back to heavy site work. In a case like this, the court or IRB looks at the combined impact of all injuries and the likely loss of earnings over the rest of the person's career, not just one body part in isolation.
These examples are illustrations only, not real client stories, and they are not predictions of what any particular claim will be worth. Cases I see in practice often look similar in shape, but the numbers move a lot depending on recovery and earnings.
Guidelines, court decisions and the 2025 update
Three legal pillars now shape Irish workplace injury awards.
1. Personal Injuries Guidelines are here to stay
Since April 2021, the Personal Injuries Guidelines have replaced the old Book of Quantum for new claims. Both the IRB and the courts must use them when valuing most injuries. A 2024 Supreme Court decision in Delaney v PIAB and others confirmed that the Guidelines have legal effect and remain binding even after they were challenged.
2. Limitation periods, Section 8 and Section 50
The usual time limit for a work injury claim is two years from the date of the accident. Under the Statute of Limitations rules, this can run from your date of knowledge if you only later realise that you suffered an injury or that it may be work-related. The Supreme Court in cases such as O'Sullivan v Ireland has stressed how carefully the courts look at when a claimant knew, or ought to have known, that they had a significant injury worth suing over.
Separate to that, Section 8 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 encourages early written notice of a claim, and Section 50 deals with how limitation periods can be handled in limited circumstances. Together, they underline the need to report accidents and seek advice promptly.
3. 2024-2025 uplift discussion
In late 2024 the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee recommended an average uplift of around 16-17 percent across many bands to reflect inflation. Public discussion continued in 2025 about whether those changes should be fully implemented. For now, claim values still centre on the existing bands, with any future uplift likely to be handled through updated Guidelines.
Workplace injury cases that reach court are often heard in the Circuit Court, for example at the Four Courts in Dublin or Washington Street in Cork, depending on where the accident happened and the value of the claim. When I review new cases, I always cross check them against the Guidelines and the more recent decisions that interpret them.
Myths and facts about workplace injury compensation
Misunderstandings can stop people from making valid claims. Here are a few common myths and how the law really works.
| Myth | Fact |
|---|---|
| "If I was partly to blame for the accident, I can't claim." | Contributory negligence usually reduces compensation by a percentage instead of stopping the claim altogether, as long as the employer or another party was also at fault. |
| "If I claim, my employer can just sack me." | Employers must still follow employment law. You should not be dismissed or treated unfairly because you reported an accident or made a genuine claim. |
| "Minor injuries are never worth claiming for." | Short-lived injuries with no time off work may not justify formal claims, but a minor injury that stops you working for weeks can still result in meaningful loss of earnings and treatment costs. |
Clients often arrive with one or two of these myths in mind, so tackling them early usually makes the whole process less stressful.
Fast facts about Irish workplace injury claims
IRB first for most injury claims. With rare exceptions, you must send your claim to the Injuries Resolution Board before issuing court proceedings. This includes most accidents at work. You can see the IRB's guide to making a claim on the official site.
Accident reporting duties. Many work accidents must be reported to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), especially serious incidents and dangerous occurrences. Where a serious incident involves a vehicle or suspected criminal behaviour, it may also need to be reported to An Garda Síochána.
Road traffic work accidents. Where a work accident also involves an uninsured or untraced motorist, for example a delivery driver hit on the road, the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) can be involved alongside any claim against an employer or another party.
Employment rights alongside your claim. You should not be dismissed for taking a valid accident-at-work claim. Employment law gives separate protection, so speak with a solicitor if you feel under pressure. On real files, simple steps like prompt reporting and keeping basic records often make later disputes about what happened much easier to deal with.
From accident to compensation: where do the figures appear?
For a fuller step-by-step guide on what to do immediately after an accident at work, including reporting and documenting the scene, see our main accident at work guide. In day-to-day practice, most of the real work sits between the IRB assessment and any later court date.
Eligibility checklist: do I have a valid workplace claim?
Before you focus on how much, it helps to sense-check whether a claim is likely to be viable. A quick mental checklist can be:
- Where were you? The accident happened at work, on a work site or while travelling directly to or from work.
- Was there a safety failing? There is at least an arguable breach of duty, such as poor training, unsafe system of work, faulty equipment, inadequate staffing or ignored warnings.
- Is there a real injury? A GP, A and E doctor or specialist has recorded a medically recognised injury or an aggravation of a previous condition.
- Are you in time? You are within the usual two-year limitation period and there is still time to send a Section 8 letter of claim and lodge an IRB application.
- Is evidence available? There are reports, photos, witnesses, CCTV, accident-book entries or HSA reports that back up what happened.
If you can tick most of these boxes, it is usually worth at least having a conversation with a solicitor about the likely value of your claim and the best way to proceed. When I speak with new clients, we normally walk through a checklist like this together in the first call.
Common questions about workplace injury compensation in Ireland
These are questions I hear again and again from workers, employers and families when a work accident has just happened.
What is the average payout for a workplace injury in Ireland?
There is no single average that works for everyone, but many straightforward work injury claims fall somewhere between €15,000 and €80,000+ when you combine the Guidelines figure with your lost earnings and expenses. Modest soft-tissue injuries can be worth less, while serious or permanent injuries can be worth considerably more.
- The Personal Injuries Guidelines set the starting band, not a fixed sum.
- Your wage loss, medical costs and future impact can push the total up.
- Two workers with the same injury can have very different overall figures.
Why it matters: online averages rarely match your situation. Proper valuation always needs your medical and financial details.
Next step: Read how the IRB uses the Personal Injuries Guidelines on this Injuries Resolution Board page and check the Judicial Council's official Personal Injuries Guidelines PDF.
What is the time limit for a workplace injury claim in Ireland?
Most workplace injury claims must be started within two years of the accident, or from your date of knowledge if you only later realised you were injured or that the injury was work-related. This is a strict legal time limit and separate from the Section 8 duty to send a prompt letter of claim.
- Time usually starts on the accident date, but not always.
- Late discovery cases can be complicated and fact-sensitive.
- Starting the IRB process in good time is crucial.
Why it matters: missing the limitation period can stop a valid claim, even when liability is clear.
Next step: See the overview of limitation periods on Citizens Information on personal injuries actions and review primary legislation on Section 8 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004.
Can I get compensation if the accident was partly my fault?
Yes. If you were partly to blame, the law often applies contributory negligence. Your compensation is reduced by a percentage that reflects your share of responsibility, but you can still recover the remainder.
- Small lapses might lead to a modest reduction only.
- Serious safety breaches can cut the figure more sharply.
- The employer still needs to have been negligent in some way.
Why it matters: many workers wrongly assume that any share of blame kills the claim. In practice, the court usually adjusts instead of refusing.
Next step: Read Citizens Information on personal injuries actions and employer safety duties on the HSA's employer responsibilities pages.
How does sick pay affect my workplace injury compensation?
If your employer paid full wages while you were out, that may reduce the wage-loss element of your claim because you did not actually lose those earnings. Where you received only partial pay, the unpaid balance can still form part of your special damages.
- Keep payslips that show what you actually received when off work.
- Some employers can recover their wage costs from the defendant.
- Social welfare payments may also need to be factored in.
Why it matters: understanding how sick pay interacts with your claim avoids surprises when a headline figure is adjusted at the end.
Next step: See official sick pay rules on Citizens Information on sick leave and benefit and Revenue's guidance on tax on compensation payments.
Is workplace injury compensation taxable in Ireland?
In most cases, genuine personal injury damages are not liable to income tax. However, some related payments, such as investment income from a lump sum or certain structured arrangements, may have tax implications.
- General damages for pain and suffering are usually tax-free.
- Future income from investing a lump sum can be taxable.
- It is safest to double-check complex arrangements with a tax adviser.
Why it matters: knowing which parts are tax-free helps you understand the real value of an offer.
Next step: Review Revenue's page on tax and compensation payments and read about Injury Benefit on Citizens Information.
Should I accept the IRB offer for my workplace injury?
An IRB assessment already uses the Guidelines, so many reasonable offers fall within the correct band. The real question is whether the medical report, severity level and special damages are properly captured for your situation.
- Acceptance brings quicker resolution with lower legal costs.
- Rejecting can lead to court, higher delay and higher risk.
- Offers that understate severity or wage loss may justify a challenge.
Why it matters: once you accept, that usually settles the claim. You rarely get a second chance if your condition worsens later.
Next step: Read the IRB's assessment information at what happens after you make a claim and the Judicial Council's Guidelines PDF to see how your injuries are categorised.
Can self-employed or agency workers claim workplace injury compensation?
Yes. The key question is who owed you a duty of care, not just your label on paper. Self-employed contractors, agency staff, temps and gig workers can still have valid claims where a company's negligence caused or contributed to the accident.
- Multiple parties may share responsibility on site.
- Written contracts are relevant but not the whole picture.
- Revenue and social insurance status can also matter.
Why it matters: many non-traditional workers wrongly assume they have no rights because they are not on standard payroll.
Next step: Check the overview of employment rights and entitlements and health and safety duties on HSA's employer pages.
Can I claim compensation and still get social welfare after a work injury?
In many cases you can receive both, but they interact. Some benefits may be time-limited or means-tested and certain welfare payments can be clawed back or taken into account when the defendant's insurer settles your claim.
- Tell your solicitor about all payments you receive.
- Keep letters and schedules from the Department of Social Protection.
- Future benefits may be affected by lump-sum capital.
Why it matters: failing to declare benefits or understand the interaction can create overpayment issues or reduce what you keep.
Next step: See the Department's information on social welfare payments and compensation and the general social welfare overview on Citizens Information.
What should I do if I think I have a workplace injury claim?
You should get medical help, report the accident, protect the time limit and speak with a solicitor who deals with workplace claims daily. Early advice can make the difference between a well-documented, fairly-valued claim and a rushed, under-prepared one.
- Record what happened while it is still fresh.
- Keep photos, witness details and accident-book entries.
- Do not delay just because symptoms seem mild at first.
Why it matters: small gaps in the early days often cause the biggest problems months or years down the line.
Next step: Review the Citizens Information page on accidents at work and HSA guidance on reporting accidents and incidents before speaking with a solicitor.
Key legal terms explained
A few short definitions can make the process easier to follow.
Injuries Resolution Board (IRB): the independent State body that values most personal injury claims in Ireland before any court case.
General damages: compensation for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, usually valued using the Personal Injuries Guidelines.
Special damages: compensation for your financial losses, such as lost wages, medical bills, travel expenses and care costs.
Contributory negligence: a finding that you were partly to blame for the accident, leading to a percentage reduction in your compensation.
Occupational Injuries Scheme: a social welfare scheme that provides Injury Benefit, Disablement Benefit and related supports where an accident happens at or on the way to or from work.
Limitation period or date of knowledge: the legal time limit for starting a claim, usually two years from the accident or from when you first knew you had a significant injury and that someone else might be at fault.
I use these terms every day. It is much easier for everyone if we are talking about the same things when we sit down to look at your case.
Additional official resources
These independent sites give up-to-date background on workplace accidents and compensation in Ireland.
- Citizens Information on accidents at work
- Injuries Resolution Board on making a claim
- Judicial Council Personal Injuries Guidelines (PDF)
Expand your knowledge
- Health and Safety Authority on reporting accidents and incidents
- Citizens Information on Injury Benefit
- Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA)
I often send people to these sites if they want to double check something themselves between calls.
Want to know where your workplace injury sits?
If you were injured at work in Ireland, we can map your injuries against the Guidelines, factor in your wages, benefits and future plans and give you a clear, honest view of what a fair outcome looks like. In my practice, many people feel more relaxed once they have a realistic band rather than a guess from the internet. For many years I have focused on personal injury and workplace accident claims in Ireland, so I see every week how the Guidelines are applied on the ground.
Gary Matthews Solicitors
Medical negligence solicitors, Dublin
We help people every day of the week (weekends and bank holidays included) that have either been injured or harmed as a result of an accident or have suffered from negligence or malpractice.
Contact us at our Dublin office to get started with your claim today
