Report calls for overhaul of personal injury awards regime to bring Ireland into line with other countries

An unpublished report by former High Court President Nicholas Kearns warns that personal injury awards in Ireland are a multiple of those in other jurisdictions and calls on judges to fix the situation.

Under the guidelines, benchmarking of international award levels would be accounted for, the report by the Government’s Personal Injuries Commission (PIC) states.

Mr Justice Kearns’s report notes that payouts in Ireland are among the highest in the world and that the average motor claim is almost €21,000, compared to nearly €4,000 in the UK, between €2,500 and €6,000 in Germany and €1,500 in France.

Award levels, it states are 4.4 times those paid in England and Wales and those for whiplash are a “stark multiple” of UK payouts.

However, investigations of claims are poor, with little risk of prosecution where fraud is revealed, resulting in a “perfect climate for abuse of the system”.

The PIC report’s recommendations include: recalibrating awards in line with foreign jurisdictions; an end to payouts made without production of medical reports; the creation of a new Garda insurance fraud unit and a new medical study on prevention and management of whiplash-related injuries.