Legislation to cap personal injury awards that would safeguard judicial independence is being examined by the Law Reform Commission. The reasons suggested for the problem, it notes, have included some insurers offering unsustainably low premiums which required later correction, as well as the level of personal injury awards in the courts. Any new law trying to cap damages would also have to avoid breaching the appropriate separation of powers between the Oireachtas and the judiciary. A personal injuries guidelines committee, which has been established on a preliminary basis under the Judicial Council Act, is meanwhile to set new guidelines for judges in personal injury cases. As a judge in the Court of Appeal, Ms Justice Irvine made some of the key rulings on personal injuries damages and how they should be quantified.

Source: The Irish Times December 11, 2019 01:00 UTC