Personal Injury Briefing: March 2024

Welcome to the latest Deka Chambers Personal Injury Team briefing. In this edition we will be looking at ‘The Discount Rate,’ ‘Third Party Costs Orders in Credit Hire’ and hot off the press, the recently published 17^th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Claims.

Under current legislation, the Government must review the Discount Rate ‘at least’ every 5 years. With the rate having been set at -0.25% since 5^th August 2019, a review must start by mid-July 2024. Andrew Spencer and Conor Kennedy look at the background to the Discount Rate, the mechanics and timetable of how it is set, and the questions that the Government are considering, in what will be a crucial decision this summer.

Holly Tibbitts explains the key findings arising from the recent judgment of Kindertons Ltd v (1) Murtagh (2) Esure Services Ltd [2024]. The case serves as a stark warning to credit hire companies of the risks of a non-party costs order being made against them in cases where they had a ‘very strong stake’ in litigation which subsequently failed in relation to the hire costs.

And William Dean takes a look at the recently published 17^th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines. On the shelves from 19^th March 2024, the Guidelines come two years after the 16^th edition, following a period of very high inflation. The Guidelines comprehensively move the dial upwards on general damages awards. 

Deka Chambers’ 80 barrister strong Personal Injury team offers outstanding depth and breadth across all levels of seniority. We are particularly pleased to celebrate this month the appointment of Paul Stagg KC and Ed Lamb KC as King’s Counsel, taking Deka’s complement of personal injury and clinical negligence Silks to 13.

Read the Briefing in full.