Judges have voted to adopt new guidelines aimed at reducing personal injury payouts.
The country's most senior judges met today to consider the guidelines to reduce general damages awards, particularly for minor injuries.
The Irish Times reports that a majority of the 166-member Judicial Council voted in support of the guidelines prepared by the council’s Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee (PIGC).
Campaigners say a cut in the level of awards for minor injuries could help drive down insurance premiums.
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee will now bring proposals to Cabinet on Tuesday on how to implement the guidelines. The changes will take place as soon as possible, according to the Minister.
“This approach will ensure that the law is robust as we seek to reduce the cost of insurance,” she said in a statement on Friday.
New guidelines
The guidelines were compiled after the PIGC examined awards in Ireland and a number of other countries, with findings suggesting that Irish whiplash awards are 1.9 to 2.3 times higher than their English and Welsh equivalents.
The guidelines propose a modest increase in awards for the catastrophically injured, with the maximum general damages for such injures to be increased from €500,000 to €550,000.
The guidelines aim to ensure that awards for lesser injuries are proportionate to this maximum and list specific injuries, ranging from minor to major, with an accompanying range or bracket within which an award of damages should fall.
A judge may depart from the relevant bracket where the facts are exceptional, provided the reasons for doing so are clearly set out.
Under the new guidelines, a case of a simple undisplaced nose fracture with a full recovery would be assigned an award of between €500-€3,000, while the Book of Quantum that the guidelines will replace allows for an award between €18,000-€21,000.
The new guidelines provide for an award of €500-€3,000 in cases of minor brain damage or head injury where there is substantial recovery within six months, and €12-€25,000 where is substantial recovery in two to five years.
In contrast, the Book of Quantum provides for up to €21,800 for a concussion-type injury where recovery results in most cases. It provides for an award from €34,700 to €60,200 for a skull fracture with no loss of consciousness or minor head injuries which result in little or any disability.
