Are Assault cases and Psychological Injury cases dealt with by PIAB?
Section 17 of the PIAB Act provides that the Board shall not be required to arrange for the making of an assessment in certain types of case. In respect of these cases the practice appears to be to submit the case to PIAB first, and PIAB will then decide in its discretion whether it will handle the case or whether it falls outside its remit. If PIAB decides not to handle the case, it will authorize court proceedings to be issued in the normal way. One type of case covered by Section 17 is where the relevant claim arises out of a trespass to the person, because the making of an assessment of the claim by the means to which assessors are limited to employing by [the] Act [ie the Book of Quantum] would not respect the dignity of the claimant. A trespass to the person would include assault, battery, and other wrongs. Again, it is for PIAB to decide whether it will handle the case or not, and PIAB maintains that each case is dealt with on its own particular merits. It would be interesting t
