Rise to personal injury awards would be a recipe for disaster for business – Nelson Murray

Any rise to personal injury awards would cause irrevocable damage to businesses and jobs, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

Senator Linda Nelson Murray also said if personal injury cases continue to be brought through the litigation process, there is a risk of business closures and job losses. She was speaking after the publication of the latest National Claims Information Database (NCID) report.

Senator Nelson Murray said: “The cost of insurance overheads for businesses and organisations remains a major concern. There was a 17pc increase in personal injuries claims being made through the courts between 2019 and 2023.

“In 2023, the average legal costs for cases settled through the courts were €23,000. By comparison, cases settled through the Injuries Resolution Board had average legal costs of less than €1,000.

“What’s perhaps more pertinent is that awards for claimants were the same (€23,000) whether claims were made through the Injuries Resolution Board or through litigation.

“This demonstrates that the net result for claimants is likely to be the same, regardless of the route they choose to have their claim investigated. But for businesses, there is a huge potential insurance costing if cases go through the courts and this must be acknowledged and mitigated against.

“I fully support anyone who has suffered a severe injury being fully compensated and taken care of, but we need to examine the lower end of the market – the smaller claims. As it stands, there are still so many groups and businesses that still either cannot get insurance or cannot get insurance at a fair price.

“A Judicial Council recommendation put before Minister Jim O’Callaghan to increase personal Injury awards is a recipe for disaster. The last increase to awards was introduced in 2022, just three years ago. Ireland’s insurance costs are still higher than many other European Countries, including our closest neighbours,” Senator Nelson Murray pointed out.

“The onus is on the Minister of State with responsibility for Insurance to:

• Ensure that more claims are dealt with through the Injuries Resolution Board
• Guarantee that personal injury awards do not increase so soon after the last increase
• Call on insurers to reduce premiums as the many reforms they requested are now completed

“The stakes for businesses are high – their viability depends on being able to obtain proper insurance at a reasonable cost. We need decisive action from the Minister if we are to avoid business closures and job losses.”