Mr. Jackie McMahon:

I am not saying it is not a good example. In Italy they have moved to a situation where telematics are fitted in all cars and the system there does not allow soft tissue injury claims outside of a certain G force collision of the car. Fundamentally, we in Ireland are just too generous in our court awards. It is a very subjective decision to say what is the real cost of the pain and suffering when a person says they have pain and suffering, especially around soft tissue injuries. I shall colour this with one example from some weeks ago. Two cars had the wing mirrors on both vehicles damaged. The wing mirrors hit as the cars went by each other. The claimant lost no time from work but his overall complaints were alleged anxiety, sleep disturbance and palpitations. Our cardiologist gave him a clean bill of health. We ran the case on the basis of minimal impact, no complaints made at the scene and that he continued to work normally since and did not seek any medical attention until six weeks afterwards. We thought his complaints were unreasonable on the basis on the facts of the accident. The case ran before the courts. A psychiatrist was called by the plaintiff who supported his evidence and he was awarded €22,500.