Leonard v The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Judge | Mr. Justice Twomey |
| Judgment Date | 12 November 2018 |
| Neutral Citation | [2018] IEHC 649 |
| Docket Number | [2018 No. 62 SP] |
| Court | High Court |
| Date | 12 November 2018 |
[2018] IEHC 649
THE HIGH COURT
GARDA COMPENSATION
Twomey J.
[2018 No. 62 SP]
Compensation – Personal injury – Assessment of damages – Applicant seeking compensation for personal injury – Whether the figure which the applicant said the Book of Quantum indicates was appropriate
Facts: The applicant, Garda Leonard, claimed compensation for personal injury under the Garda Compensation Acts arising from a soft tissue injury to his left shoulder which was incurred during the course of his duties. Counsel for the applicant relied on the Book of Quantum to seek compensation of €20,000.
Held by the High Court (Twomey J) that the appropriate amount of compensation was considerably less than the figure which counsel said the Book of Quantum indicates is appropriate. The Court relied upon the principles regarding the assessment of damages set down by the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court which were binding on the Court, including the recent caselaw of the Court of Appeal, which the High Court had described as amounting to a downwards 'recalibration' of personal injury awards.
Twomey J held that he would make an award of €8,000 compensation/general damages and €60 special damages, the special damages relating to the applicant's out of pocket medical expenses, namely the costs he incurred in GP visits.
Judgment approved.
This case concerns a claim for compensation for a soft tissue injury to a shoulder in which counsel for the applicant relied on the Book of Quantum to seek compensation of €20,000. However, this Court concludes that the appropriate amount of compensation is considerably less than the figure which counsel says the Book of Quantum indicates is appropriate, since this Court will make an award of €8,000 of compensation/general damages and €60 special damages, the special damages relating to the applicant's out of pocket medical expenses, namely the costs he incurred in GP visits.
The Court does so, not in reliance on the recent report of the Personal Injuries Commission chaired by the former President of the High Court which calls for the downwards " recalibration" of awards for personal injuries, since this Report is not binding on this Court. Rather it does so in reliance upon the principles regarding the assessment of damages set down by the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court and which are binding on this Court, including the recent caselaw of the Court of Appeal, which the High Court has described as amounting to a downwards " recalibration" of personal injury awards.
In light of the discrepancy between the figure suggested by his counsel, in reliance on the Book of Quantum which suggests an award of up to €32,500 for minor injuries to a shoulder, and the award made by this Court, this Court will briefly outline in this judgment the principles which this Court is required by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court to apply in assessing damages for personal injuries.
The claim for compensation for personal injury is made by Garda Leonard under the Garda Compensation Acts arising from a soft tissue injury to his left shoulder which was incurred during the course of his duties. On 11th July, 2014 Garda Leonard sustained an injury to his left shoulder in a fall while chasing a suspect attempting to evade arrest. He attended an out-of-hours GP service following the incident and was subsequently referred to the Emergency Department of his local hospital. He was assessed at the Emergency Department and x-rays revealed no fractures to his left shoulder. He was discharged with pain killers and anti-inflammatories.
He was on sick leave for about 5 days and resumed normal duties at work thereafter.
On 21st July, 2014 he attended his GP due to ongoing pain. The GP diagnosed a sprain to the left A/C joint and treated him with a steroid injection which was repeated in October 2014. He was also treated with anti-inflammatory medication at that time by his GP. Medical evidence provided to this Court is that this was the end of the medical intervention in this case and that Garda Leonard has made a full recovery from this soft tissue injury.
No evidence was given of a previous claim by Garda Leonard and so it appears that this is Garda Leonard's first compensation claim under the Garda Compensation Acts.
Against this background, this Court will consider the principles applicable to the assessment of damages.
Counsel for Garda Leonard referred to the Book of Quantum. This provides that minor injuries to the shoulder receive awards of "up to €32,500". Such "minor" injuries are described as:
"mild injuries where there is no tearing of the ligament, and often no elbow movement is lost, although there may be tenderness and slight swelling which has substantially recovered".
In addition, the Book of Quantum provides that "moderate injuries" to the shoulder receive awards of "€22,000 to €60,900". Such "moderate" injuries are described as:
"caused by a partial tear in the ligament" and "characterised by obvious swelling, extensive bruising, pain, and reduced function of the shoulder with a full recovery expected".
Upon this basis, counsel for Garda Leonard argued that he should be awarded compensation of in the region of €20,000.
As this Court is awarding Garda Leonard €8,000, it will outline the principles applicable to assessing damages in personal injury cases.
Before doing so, reference will be made to the recent Report of the Personal Injuries Commission which was chaired by Mr. Nicholas Kearns, former President of the High Court. This Report provides that certain personal injury awards in Ireland are 4.4 times higher than those in England and Wales and that there was a need for a " rebalancing and recalibration of Irish awards" (at page 7).
In a recent media interview (Irish Independent 29th September, 2018), the current Chief Justice of Ireland, Clarke C.J. stated that this "report has to be taken seriously" and that:
"if damages are significantly higher in Ireland than they are for like cases in many other countries, that has consequences for competitiveness and jobs"
and that
"I don't think we necessarily have to have a race to the bottom and have the same level of damages as the country with the least, but I think we...
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