General Damages to increase by 10%
General damages to increase by 10%
Thursday 26 July 2012 by John Hyde, The Gazette
The Court of Appeal today confirmed that general damages will increase by 10% for all judgments made after 1 April 2013.
Senior figures at the judiciary said the judgment was being made several months in advance to provide ‘simplicity and clarity’.
The uplift was a key element of Lord Justice Jackson’s recommendations for reform of the civil litigation system. But with the increase not included in government legislation to enact Jackson’s report, the judgment said it would be ‘a breach of faith’ for the judiciary not to ensure trial judges would apply it.
In the judgment, the lord chief justice, master of the rolls and vice-president of the Court of Appeal said the uplift would not achieve ‘perfect justice in every case’, but that the same thing could be said of any of the changes happening to the civil system.
The uplift will apply to general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity in personal injury, nuisance, defamation and all other torts which cause suffering, inconvenience or distress to individuals.