The Gazette 1985

GAZETTE

JULY/AUGUST 1985

BOOK REVIEW Personal Injury Litigation — Practice and Precedents by Iain S. Goldrein and Margaret R. de Haas. Butterworths, 1985. Hani cover £28 Stg. The Publisher's blurb claims that this book "is a highly practical reference source which includes all relevant precedents, charts, check-lists and details of legal aid". It is not an exaggerated claim in relation to English legal principles and practices. The book is divided into seven parts dealing with: the body of law and the Practice and Procedure relating to Personal Injuries; Fatal Accidents Practice and Procedure; Motor Insurance — Third Party Rights; Pre-Trial Practice; Costs and Legal Aid Cases. Part VII contains twelve Appendices — the last two deal with the medical drawings and glossary of medical terms which are concise and very useful. The extent to which a continued assessment of damages by Juries in our jurisdiction has led to a divergence between the English and Irish practice is not easily quantifiable but undoubtedly if Jury assessments are abolished following the strong lobby to do so, the framework of law and practice of the English system will become more relevant here and this book can be a useful guideline for our practitioners and any academic who may wish to produce a similar guide for the Irish system. There is divergence between the two systems in procedural matters which are noteworthy. In England actuarial evidence is used as a secondary method of calculating future loss. The multiplier/multiplicand method is applied primarily; as a secondary method an Actuary and an Accountant may to a limited degree provide the Judge with a means of cross checking his calculation and in arriving at the appropriate multiplier. Because of inflationary pressure there has been a growing pressure in the English jurisdiction for the introduction of actuarial evidence. The multipliers traditionally adopted by the Courts were based on the assumption that the principal sum of damage would earn interest at about 5%. This very issue was argued in the case of Cooke -v- Walsh [1984] ILRM 208 and the Supreme Court confirmed the High Court ruling that in Infant cases the discount be reduced to 2'/ 2 %. However, the victory has been short lived because due to reduction in inflation Actuaries are now adopting a 4% discount rate. The strict control of other expert evidence in the English system compels the Practitioner there to apply stringent proofs in processing the client's claim. Expert evidence is excluded if it is an expression of an opinion which the Judge is capable of forming without recourse to such expertise. The practice of automatic directions requiring the discovery of documents within 14 days and if expert evidence is relied on, the disclosure of the substance of that evidence within 10 weeks in the form of a written Report to be agreed if possible between the parties, may be applicable here if and when Juries are abolished. The procedure for interim payments could be applied with benefit in our system at this stage and the development of the American system of structured settlements could easily be incorporated by a development of the existing English rules of Court. The most attractive feature of this book is the succinct and straightforward explanation of the legal principles involved together with Rules of Practice and the guidance offered by the Courts on procedural points, in decided

cases which are set out in the text under the relevant headings and not in the rather tedious manner of footnotes which may suit the academic or practitioner gifted with exceptional eyesight. Anyone interested in the current debate about the necessity of improving our legal system in relation to Personal Injury claims will find this a most valuable text. • Franklin O'Sullivan

Young Lawyers International Association A I J A The Annual Congress for the Year 1985 will take place at Lisbon on 24th-28th September

The topics for discussion are as follows:—

1. Legal Protection of Software. 2. The removal of minors from one jurisdiction to another. 3. The legal status of company directors, their civil and criminal responsibilities. 4. Free movement of goods within the EEC.

Anyone interested please contact: Michael Irvine,

Matheson Ormsby & Prentice, 20 Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2. Tel: 760981 Telex: 24333

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