Dublin, Ireland personal injury solicitors work under very different laws than personal injury claim lawyers in the United States. Changes in the laws were enacted in 2003 which established a Personal Injury Assessment Board (PIAB) that required that any claim for personal injury that entails a financial settlement be handled through the board before seeking court assistance. This process does not bind either the claimant or respondent to accept their findings. Dublin, Ireland personal injury solicitors handle a wide range of personal injury claims including defective products, car accidents and other personal injury cases. Many people believe that in many personal injury cases, the PIAB does not allow for a proper representation by claimants. Rather than allowing direct testimony of any kind, the PIAB depends only on documents that are submitted on behalf of the claimant and the respondent. US law typically allows for remuneration for costs of legal assistance, this is not the case with PIAB. In most cases, those who feel they have a personal injury claim will have to go through several months of waiting before they can determine whether they should proceed. This is due to the structure of the PIAB which allows a long period of assessment which can be as much as nine months. In addition, the process allows for at least one extension of six months. All victims of personal injury are entitled to legal representation. However, the since PIAB does not allow for any type of oral arguments, many complaints are taken directly to the PIAB without the benefit of a personal injury solicitor. As with personal injury victims in the US, Dublin personal injury victims should always seek the assistance of a qualified personal injury solicitor.