Begging for compensation

By Laura Glenn - laura.glenn@inishtimes.com A year and a half after a horrific crash took the lives of five eastern Europeans, the family of one of the victims still hasn’t received the compensation they are entitled to under Irish law. Marita Kerpe from Latvia was killed on February 18, 2006 when the car in which she was a passenger was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle at Lisfannon. The bodies who deal with these particular claims – the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) and the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland – were contacted by her family earlier this year but have so far failed to pay out. Mrs Kerpe was forced to emigrate to Ireland to provide for her husband Gatis, two young children and elderly parents. Now, her family have been forced to appeal for help in obtaining the compensation they say they desperately need. The family’s Latvian lawyer, Lauris Boss, last week their material conditions are “very tough”. “Gatis earns scarely enough to provide for the family’s urgent needs. The situation is even more desperate as Marita’s son has started school,” he said.