Proposals to require courts to approve legal settlements of financial cases involving minors are set to be put to a public consultation after the summer. Personal injury and road traffic specialist firm JMK Solicitors has been calling since 2016 for action to ensure children’s rights are fully
Personal Injury
Alistair Kinley of commercial and insurance law specialists BLM considers the latest developments on the personal injury discount rate in Northern Ireland. At last Friday’s meeting of the justice committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly it was reported that the minister had obtained the agre
The High Court has granted an order for post-accident discovery of a plaintiff’s medical records in a personal injuries action and reaffirmed the position that post-accident discovery may be granted in line with the usual rules of discovery. In making the order, the court clarified the decisio
A number of senior judges have circulated memos critical of draft personal injury guidelines currently being considered by the Judicial Council, according to reports. The memos have been seen by The Irish Times, which reports that they come from High Court judges and one Court of Appeal judge. One i
The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal against a personal injuries award for a man who slipped and fell down set of steps at work. The plaintiff, Mr Terry Morgan, has been awarded €110,000 in the High Court for the accident. However, on Friday, the three-judge panel overturned the decision a
The Judicial Council has adjourned to give further consideration to proposed personal injury guidelines following its meeting on Friday. The council was widely expected to approve the draft guidelines drawn up by its personal injuries guidelines committee, which have not been published but are said
Northern Ireland's county courts will gain jurisdiction over more personal injury and defamation cases under plans put out to consultation today. Justice Minister Naomi Long has launched a 12-week public consultation on increasing the general civil jurisdiction of the county courts.
A high-performance sports player who was injured while working for a construction company has won a five-figure settlement in a case which lawyers say could not have been won a decade ago. Personal injury lawyer Cieran Marshall of JMK Solicitors represented the Gaelic football and Hurling player, wh
The Court of Appeal has overturned a personal injuries award for a woman who was scalded by hot water after trying to make tea in a glass jug from Dunnes Stores. In the High Court, the plaintiff was awarded €56,000 after the trial judge held that the jug should have had a label to warn users no
Lawyers and courts staff have been invited to complete an anonymous survey aimed at gauging the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the personal injuries legal system. Barrister Chloë Cass is conducting the online survey to form the basis of a paper and talk for a personal injury claims conferen
The Court of Appeal has ruled that the defendants in a personal injuries action must provide further information to the plaintiff about a “bald denial” in their defence. The plaintiff had argued that section 13 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 required the defendant to provide
The Court of Appeal has found a Centra shop and a security company liable for personal injuries which were sustained in a brawl outside the store premises. The plaintiff, Mr Cian McCarthy, suffered significant brain injuries when he was assaulted by a pedestrian after he was ejected by security staf
Personal injury lawyers have launched legal action against Northern Ireland's Department of Justice (DOJ) over its decision not to set an interim personal injury discount rate pending legislation to introduce a new mechanism for setting the rate. The Department ran a consultation this summer on how
The replacement of the Book of Quantum with personal injury guidelines, an enhanced role for the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) and the creation of a statutory offence of perjury are among the 66 actions set out in the government's first action plan for insurance reform. The action plan,
The new CEO of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) has said she is working with government ministers to boost the Board's powers and help to bring down insurance costs. Rosalind Carroll, who took over the role in March, told the Irish Independent that she is "passionate about getting thing