A meeting of the country’s judges has been adjourned for two weeks to allow them to further consider proposed new guidelines expected to reduce general damages awards for many personal injuries, especially minor soft tissue injuries. A spokesman for the council told The Irish Times the meeting had been adjourned to February 20th for further consideration of the guidelines, which have been unanimously recommended for adoption by the board of the council and its Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee. The guidelines have yet to be published but they are expected to propose major reductions in personal injury awards, to be achieved by significantly cutting back on the scope for judicial discretion when making awards by setting tighter limits on awards for specific injuries. They are also likely to discourage plaintiffs from bringing cases to the High Court, where significantly higher legal costs apply. The guidelines were prepared following examination of damage awards here and in other countries.

Source: The Irish Times February 05, 2021 13:41 UTC