General Where the defendant has committed a tort /civil wrong, the claimant/wronged party is entitled to monetary compensation so as to put him in the position in which he would have been, but for the wrong committed. In some cases, an injunction or order prohibiting conduct, or exceptionally ordering the defendant positively to do something, make be granted instead of, […]
Tort The vast majority of civil claims for personal injuries are settled by agreement. In practice, the defendant’s insurers usually take over the conduct of the claim, will decide whether to settle and will determine the terms on which the settlement, typically with the claimant’s legal representatives. Less than ten per cent of personal cases proceed to a court hearing. […]
Role of Solicitors Solicitors only may issue legal proceedings on behalf of others for reward. In theory, cases may be settled by non-solicitors, but the fact that they are not in a position to institute legal proceedings is likely to weaken their position. Ultimately, they may need to refer the case to a solicitor for the commencement of proceedings. The […]
Road Traffic Accidents I A significant amount of negligence cases arise from road traffic accidents. Formerly, such cases constituted a high proportion of all cases before the courts. The introduction of the PIAB has required that all cases are filtered through PIAB, now the Injuries Board. Road traffic claims and disputes are determined by reference to principles of due care […]
Dependents The dependents may bring a wrongful death claim for loss of dependency and other quantifiable losses. Under the Civil Liability Act, they may claim for mental distress, subject to a relatively modest maximum amount. The wrongful death proceedings must be commenced within two years from the date of death or the date of knowledge of the person whose benefit […]
The Book of Quantum The Book of Quantum was compiled on behalf of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board by independent consultants. The Book of Quantum was first published in 2004. A second edition was published in 2016. There had been some judicial criticism of the delay in updating the Book. The Book of Quantum is designed as an aid in […]
General In compiling this document, the consultants examined representative samples from over 51,000 closed personal injuries claims from 2013 and 2014 based on actual figures from Court cases,insurance company settlements, State Claims Agency cases and Personal Injuries AssessmentBoard (PIAB) data. In essence, the purpose of this publication is to distil settlement and awards data in the personalinjuries process in Ireland […]
Personal injuries guidelines Personal injuries guidelines adopted by the Judicial Council , including any amendments adopted (“personal injuries guidelines”) contain general guidelines as to the level of damages that may be awarded or assessed in respect of personal injuries. The guidelines may include guidance on any or all of the following: the level of damages for personal injuries generally; the […]
Principles of Damages The principle of damages is that the plaintiff should be put in the same position in so far as money can do so, in which he would have been, but for the wrong. The assessment of general damages for personal injury, in one sense, involve a relatively subjective assessment of compensation by the court. This may seem […]
General Damages Awards Yun v MIBI and Tao [2009] IEHC 318, the claimant suffered back injuries in a car crash and significant psychological damage “1. Where the claimant has been awarded compensatory special damages to make provision for all necessary past and future care, medical treatment and loss of earnings, there will be a limit or ‘cap’ placed upon the […]
Pain & Suffering In Payne v Nugent [2015] IECA 268 the Court of Appeal reduced an award of €45,000 for pain and suffering today €20,000 for future pain and suffering to €30,000 and 4000 respectively. Irvine J. “I am mindful of the fact that while it cannot be stated that there is a cap on general damages for pain and […]
The New Book of Quantum Dylan v Stagg [2017] IEHC 21, set out possible reasons not to apply the Book of Quantum: “The court was invited by Mr Walsh, SC, on behalf of the defendant, to have regard to the various heads of compensation as set out in page 37 of the Book of Quantum. While providing some assistance, the […]
Applying CA Criteria In Griffin v Hoare [2020] IEHC 40, the High Court awarded €85,000 for pain and suffering to date and €70,000 for the same into the future. The plaintiff, suffered fractured clavicle and patella, abrasions and soft tissue contusion in an RTA. He was unable to finish his apprenticeship as an electrician and was unable to continue playing […]
Nature Special damages are damages which arise from the particular circumstances of the case. They are “over and above” general damages. They must be specifically pleaded in the claim so that the defendant is not surprised at trial. In contrast, general damages are those which flow from the wrong automatically and need not be pleaded. In other contexts, special damages […]
Special Damages in Personal Injury Cases Where the claimant has suffered serious personal injuries, it may affect his capacity for work leading to loss of earnings to date, future loss of earnings and loss of other employment-related benefits. There may be a reduction in his life expectancy which may reduce his expected working life. There may be a substantial claim […]
Collateral Benefits In assessing damages in a fatal injuries claim, account shall not be taken of any charitable gift whether, by way of money or property made to the claimant in consequence of the death of the deceased unless the defendant is donor and at the time of the making the gift, he informs the claimant in writing, that should […]
Background Generally, the only type of award allowed is a lump-sum award. It represents a once and for all payment for all past and future losses, whether quantifiable in monetary terms or not. In recent years, the courts have approved a number of structured settlement agreements involving periodic payments in the case of State defendants. A working group reported on the […]
Injuries Board The Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003 and the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 made fundamental changes to the procedures for the recovery of compensation in personal-injury cases. It reformed the law and practice for personal-injury claims and litigation. The legislation followed sustained criticism of the level of costs and the pre-existing practices. The Act established a […]
Scope Claims of the type set out below are subject to mandatory application to the Board for assessment. The legislation sets out certain procedures which must be used by every claimant who wishes to recover damages in respect of the above claims, within the scope of the Act. It prohibits the bringing of a claim unless the specified conditions have […]
2022 Act Reforms The 2022 Act provides for the notification by the Board of a claimant’s application to the respondent and a request as to whether the respondent consents to mediation, assessment or both. ‘Mediation’ is defined in the Act as a confidential, facilitative, and voluntary process in which parties to a relevant claim, with the assistance of a mediator, […]