Launches countdown clock to deadline for new judicial guidelines on damages
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed observations on the calculation of Irish personal injury awards provided in a judgement by the Court of Appeal on a High Court personal injury case, earlier this week.
Linda Murray, Director of the Alliance and owner of Huckleberry’s Den play centre in Navan said “We welcome the timely and practical insights of the Court of Appeal in this judgement on issues such as the level of personal injury awards, the current lack of consistency in such awards and the impact on society of those awards. SMEs, voluntary groups, charities and sports and cultural organisations, the core of the Irish economy and Irish society, are being seriously damaged by the cost of insurance or in numerous cases now unable to obtain insurance. As the Personal Injuries Commission clearly identified, sky-high general damages are at the heart of this issue and must be cut to reflect international norms to ensure that legitimate minor injuries attract modest damages.”
Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said “General damages for minor fully-recovered injuries must be comprehensively reduced. Responsibility for this task is currently with the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee of the Judicial Council and the Committee is due to present draft guidelines to the Board of the Judicial Council by the 28th October. These guidelines are intended to replace the current Book of Quantum. We have installed a countdown clock on our website counting down to that date and we very much look forward to seeing the judiciary reflect the common good in their deliberations. Policyholders cannot wait any longer for dramatic, meaningful reductions in awards for minor injuries. The Alliance expects general damages for minor injuries to be dramatically reduced along the lines of the Fair Book of Quantum published by ISME.”
