Feb 6th 2014, 17:50

BOOK REVIEW

GUIDELINES FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF GENERAL DAMAGES IN PERSONAL INJURY CASES
Twelfth edition

By The Judicial College

ISBN: 978 0 19 968782 4

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

www.oup.com



A CLEAR AND LOGICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES IN PI CASES – EVERY COURT HAS ONE

An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers

What are the reasonable levels of compensation for personal injury and how are they assessed? This book from the Oxford University Press, now in its twelfth edition, will, in the vast majority of cases, provide the answers in the form of guidelines. Descriptively titled ‘Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases’, it has become over the years, the essential -- indeed absolutely fundamental -- reference for judges as well as practitioners dealing with PI cases.

Writing in the Foreword, Ramsey J describes these well established guidelines “as the source of essential information for judges and practitioners when considering awards of damages in personal injury cases”. He goes on to say that such guidance has become ever more necessary because the awards have become more complex as the litigation challenges increase. Not surprisingly, a copy of this volume is provided automatically to all judges involved in hearing PI cases, and as there is a copy in every court, it is obvious that if you are PI practitioner, acquiring your own copy will be fundamental to your practice.

This new edition is the latest update on the established and logical framework for the assessment of damages in PI cases, taking into account such factors as inflation and the decisions of the higher courts on quantum. Under each category of personal injury, note that there is an additional precise and time-saving feature, namely a second column of figures showing the 10% uplift in general damages as recommended by Sir Rupert Jackson and endorsed by the Court of Appeal in Simmons v. Castle [2012].

Under the expert editorship of a working party from the Judicial College, (formerly the Judicial Studies Board) the book covers the full spectrum of personal injury from minor injuries to the most serious life changing injuries and injuries resulting in death. Included are injuries resulting in psychiatric and psychological damage…. those affecting the senses… injuries to internal organs… orthopaedic injuries… chronic pain, facial injuries, scarring, damage to hair and dermatitis.

Publications from the Judicial College are relatively new (as legal reference books go) and have proved invaluable in their support of --and assistance to -- advocacy. If you as a practitioner are involved in any sort of PI case, (including infant approvals), especially where quantum is an issue, you should have a copy of this book to hand in court, bearing in mind that the judge will have already referred to it.

It is indeed an understatement to refer to this book as both authoritative and indispensable.

If you as a practitioner are involved in any sort of PI case, (including infant approvals), especially where quantum is an issue, you should have a copy of this book to hand in court, bearing in mind that the judge will have already referred to it. It is indeed an understatement to refer to this book as both authoritative and indispensable. Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor, Richmond Green Chambers