Gary Matthews Solicitors

There were also major cuts in overall claims costs as a result of a reduction of 18% in the number of personal injuries claims made to PIAB last year.

This follows a reduction in 2020 of 16% and an overall drop in claims volumes in the last two years of 31%

The decreased volume in claims combined with the introduction of the Personal Injuries Guidelines in April 2021 resulted in a decrease in overall total award values in 2021 of €49 million compared to 2020 or a huge €118 million compared to 2020.

To read the full story please visit:
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2022/0728/1312770-118m-drop-in-value-of-personal-injuries-awards/

The High Court has awarded €60,000 in damages to a girl who suffered from moderate PTSD and who received a white scar on her thigh from a road traffic accident. The case was notable as it was one of the first cases in which a court was required to apply the new Personal Injuries Guidelines which came into effect in April 2021.

Delivering judgment in the case, Mr Justice Paul Coffey outlined the procedure for assessing a plaintiff’s injuries and the proper categorisation of the plaintiff’s injuries under the Guidelines. Although the plaintiff’s PTSD injury was moderate, the court awarded €35,000 for this injury, being the upper limit of the “moderate PTSD” category.

To read the full story please visit:
https://www.irishlegal.com/articles/high-court-eur60000-awarded-under-new-guidelines-for-girl-suffering-from-moderate-ptsd-and-minor-white-scar-on-thigh

A 33-year-old fitness instructor, who claimed she injured her back in a fall down steps in a shopping centre, posted on-line pictures of herself engaged in extreme physical activities following the incident, a judge heard today.

Judge Sarah Berkeley in the Circuit Civil Court dismissed Kimberly Hynes’s €60,000 damages claim for personal injuries against the owner of Nutgrove Shopping Centre, Rathfarnham, where she said she had slipped on a wet stairs and bumped down three steps.

“I don’t believe her GP knew she was engaged in these activities and on the basis of the medical evidence of her own doctor she has exaggerated her injuries in court,” Judge Berkeley said. She threw out Hynes’s case and awarded legal costs against her.

To read the full story please visit:
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/judge-throws-out-fitness-instructors-60k-fall-claim-after-seeing-extreme-physical-activity-snaps-on-instagram-41865511.html