Mr Justice Kearns ‘surprised’ by Law Society reaction to personal injury report

Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns

The second and final report of the Personal Injuries Commission was given a “cautious welcome” by the Law Society, which warned that appropriate compensation for accident victims needed to be preserved.

Law Society director-general Ken Murphy said: “We must avoid a situation where injury victims end up in a poorer position while insurance companies keep getting richer.

“Simply reducing damages takes money away from those who suffer injuries through no fault of their own and puts it in the pockets of the already very profitable insurance companies. It is critical that the judiciary maintains a balance between the rights of injury victims and appropriate compensation levels.”

However, Mr Justice Kearns pointed out that the report was agreed unanimously by members of the commission, including Law Society president Stuart Gilhooly, himself a personal injuries lawyer.

Mr Justice Kearns said that it “was a unanimous report … I don’t understand how you can unanimously support it one day and not another”.

He added that he suspected the Law Society agreed with the report but was reflecting fears among solicitors whose costs are strongly tied to injury awards.