PERSONAL INJURY AWARDS INCREASE
The value of personal-injury awards given by the courts is set to jump by close to 17pc under proposals set to be considered by the judiciary.
If approved by judges, and subsequently rubber-stamped by the Oireachtas, the move will see award levels creep up again, less than four years after they were slashed due to being significantly higher than in Northern Ireland, England and Wales.
The proposed increases come on the back of a review of award guidelines by a Judicial Council committee.
The Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee was mandated by law to conduct a review three years after the guidelines were introduced and must continue to review award levels at least every three years thereafter.
The committee, made up of seven judges, said the main reasons for the recommended increases were significant global and national inflation and recent jurisprudence in cases involving multiple injuries.
However, the development is unlikely to go down well with consumers due to the potential impact on insurance premiums.
Motorists are already bearing the brunt of inflationary pressures, with CSO data in November indicating premiums had risen for 14 months in a row.
The Alliance for Insurance Reform, a group representing 46 civic and business organisations, expressed alarm at the proposals, which it said had the potential to undermine the effective operation of the Injuries Resolution Board. It called for steps to address these concerns in the next programme for government.
Under the draft amended guidelines, awards for minor whiplash injuries, where a substantial recovery is made within one to two years, will rise to between €7,000 and €14,000, up from between €6,000 and €12,000.
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The maximum award for the most devastating and catastrophic injuries, such as quadriplegia, would be set at €642,000, up from €550,000.
The draft amended guidelines were published by the committee yesterday evening in advance of them being considered by the Judicial Council as a whole, which is made up of the country’s 199 sitting judges. The rate of increase was set at 16.7pc after the committee said it had been advised by economic consultants to link it to the harmonised index of consumer prices.
Alliance for Insurance Reform chief executive Brian Hanley said there would be questions over the methodology used. He said it was worth noting that special damages, which are costs associated with the treatment of personal injuries and loss of earnings, had already been keeping pace with inflation. This was an approach supported by the group.
“General damages are not related to the cost of living, however, and our members are concerned at the level of increase proposed in respect of general damages,” Mr Hanley added.
He said that coming so soon after the introduction of the guidelines in 2021, a 16.7pc increase was “significant and material”.
Mr Hanley queried whether the harmonised index of consumer prices was the best measure. He also said there would need to be careful consideration of how frequently reviews should be carried out if there was to be certainty and stability around the disposition of personal injury claims.
He added that the Injuries Resolution Board was dealing with claims in half the time it takes in court, with substantially lower legal costs.
(SOURCE: SHANE PHELAN, IRISH INDEPENDENT, 13/12/24)