Personal Injury

Alison Cassidy, partner at DAC Beachcroft in Belfast, comments on Northern Ireland's low personal injury discount rate. It has been over five months since the Department of Justice made a shock announcement to change the personal injury discount rate (PIDR) from +2.5 per cent to -1.75 per cent, leav

Judges are unsure as to who among them should hear a series of legal challenges to new personal injury guidelines because nearly all judges voted on them, according to reports. There are now at least five sets of proceedings in the High Court taking aim at the new guidelines, raising issues such as

The Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to dismiss a plaintiff’s claim for personal injuries arising from the circumstances of her birth. The HSE sought to strike out the proceedings which issued 41 years after the birth of the plaintiff, arguing that i

The High Court has ruled that a scratch golfer who lost his index finger while assisting his golf club was entitled to €100,000 in damages arising from the accident. In so finding, the court held that the plaintiff was not a member of the club at the time and was therefore entitled to pursue th

A virtual conference hosted by global legal business DWF will examine Northern Ireland's interim personal injury discount rate (PIDR) of -1.75 per cent, which the firm describes as the lowest in Europe. The sector-wide conference will consider the changes and their repercussions, which could see sub

Most personal injury claimants are no longer accepting awards by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) following the introduction of the Judicial Council's new personal injury guidelines, new figures show. A new report from PIAB shows that award levels have declined by 40 per cent on average

The Court of Appeal has ordered a full rehearing of a personal injuries case after the court determined that the trial judge had failed to engage with essential aspects of the evidence. The court held that it was “surprising and unfortunate” that the trial judge failed to recognise that

The Court of Appeal has reduced a personal injuries award by €35,000 on the basis that the trial judge failed to adequately set out reasons for the original award of €210,000. While the court agreed that the accident in the proceedings was “horrendous”, the court held that the

The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) is expecting the number of claims lodged this year to be down by 20 per cent on the previous year. Stephen Watkins, director of corporate services for PIAB, told The Irish Times that the figure was already 10 per cent lower as of August and expected to d

Belfast-based Millar McCall Wylie has launched a new identity and dedicated online presence for its personal injury legal services team following a period of growth. The firm, which employs over 40 legal professionals between its Belfast city centre and Ballyhackamore offices, has created MMW Claims

Dublin City Council has paid out more than €33.5 million to settle personal injury claims over the past three years, according to new figures. Data released to The Times under freedom of information legislation shows that 2,228 claims were settled by the local authority between 2018 and 2020.

The High Court has dismissed a personal injuries action in a trip-and-fall case on the basis that the plaintiff failed to look where he was walking at the time of the accident. The court applied cases such as Lavin v. Dublin Airport Authority [2016] IECA 268 and stated that the accident would not ha

The Court of Appeal has upheld an order of garnishee which was made to satisfy a damages award against a company in personal injury proceedings. The garnishee order was granted following the settlement of separate proceedings taken by the company against its insurance broker and underwriter. The com

A consultation has been launched seeking views on possible legislation to require all compensation settlements to children for personal injuries to be approved by a court. Currently in Northern Ireland, only those compensation settlements for a child which are agreed during legal proceedings must be

Plaintiff personal injury firm JMK Solicitors has successfully trialled a new initiative to securely share documents with defendant law firms. The firm's secure document sharing portal aims to create greater efficiencies in the handling of litigation and help to reduce the risks of data breaches.