Court approves assessment of damages made by PIAB in asbestos case

Personal injuries – assessment of damages – application to approve assessment made by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board – death of an employee of defendant – widow claims that the deceased had been repeatedly exposed to asbestos fibres during the course of his employment with the respondent and that this exposure caused him to suffer a terminal malignant mesothelioma – Part IV claim – statutory framework - whether to approve PIAB assessment - role of the court in deciding whether or not to approve a proposed settlement in a fatal injuries action where the statutory dependants include children under the age of eighteen years – dependents -
in circumstances where there is no claim for loss of financial dependency on behalf of a minor dependant or any other person lacking legal capacity, the approval of the court is not required for this aspect of the PIAB assessment - division of the solatium - each of the four qualifying grandchildren is to receive the sum of €2,500 - this represents a generous allocation and one which would not be exceeded were this court to refuse to approve the assessment, which would have the consequence that the fatal injuries claim would then have to be litigated -trial judge is unlikely to award a higher figure to the grandchildren – PIAB assessment approved