INJURED.IE LEGAL GUIDE
The Personal Injuries Guidelines help the Injuries Resolution Board and the courts assess general damages for pain and suffering. This guide explains which version is currently in force, what the Guidelines cover, how medical evidence and multiple injuries are considered, and why a guideline bracket is not a prediction of an individual claim.
Which Personal Injuries Guidelines apply now?
As at 29 August 2026, the Personal Injuries Guidelines that took legal effect on 24 April 2021 remain the current Guidelines in Ireland. Draft amendments proposing an overall 16.7% increase have been published, but they have not taken legal effect. The existing 2021 figures continue to apply unless and until amended Guidelines are formally approved, adopted and brought into force.
What are the Personal Injuries Guidelines?
The Guidelines were prepared through the Judicial Council and adopted in March 2021. They took legal effect on 24 April 2021 and replaced the Book of Quantum as the principal framework for assessing general damages in personal-injury cases within their scope.
The Injuries Resolution Board and the courts must have regard to the Guidelines when assessing general damages. If either departs from the Guidelines, it must state its reasons.
The Guidelines are an assessment framework. They do not decide whether another person is legally responsible for an accident, whether an injury was caused by that accident, or whether a claim will succeed.
What do the Guidelines cover?
The Guidelines cover
General damages for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by a personal injury. The Guidelines group injuries by type and seriousness and provide ranges for different levels of severity or recovery.
The Guidelines do not cover
Special damages or other financial loss. Matters such as supported loss of earnings, medical expenses, care costs and travel expenses are considered separately on their own evidence. The Guidelines also do not determine liability, causation or legal costs.
How is a guideline bracket approached?
There is no automatic figure for an injury. The available evidence is used to identify the relevant injury category and the appropriate part of a range.
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Step 1 — Establish the medical diagnosis
The injury must be described accurately. A symptom reported by a claimant and a diagnosis supported by medical evidence are not necessarily the same thing.
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Step 2 — Consider severity and treatment
The nature of the injury, the treatment required and the seriousness of the initial symptoms can affect the applicable category.
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Step 3 — Consider recovery and prognosis
The duration of symptoms, the extent of recovery, any continuing restriction and the medical prognosis can affect where an injury falls within a range.
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Step 4 — Consider the individual effects
The Guidelines direct attention to the effect of the injury on the individual. Relevant evidence may include restrictions on ordinary activities, work and quality of life, where those effects are supported and connected to the injury.
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Step 5 — Keep financial losses separate
Financial losses and expenses are assessed separately on supporting evidence. They are not part of a general-damages bracket.
How are multiple injuries assessed?
Guideline ranges for several injuries should not simply be added together. Where possible, the decision-maker identifies and values the most significant injury, then considers an uplift for the additional pain, discomfort and limitations caused by the other injuries. Any uplift must produce an overall result that is fair and proportionate to the combined effect of the injuries.
That exercise depends on the medical evidence and the facts of the individual case. An online tool cannot perform it reliably by adding several bracket values.
What if there was a pre-existing condition?
A pre-existing condition does not by itself answer whether a later accident caused injury or made an existing problem worse. Medical evidence may be needed to distinguish the underlying condition from any accident-related aggravation and to address prognosis and recovery.
Where an existing condition was aggravated, the Guidelines say regard should be had only to the extent to which it was made worse and the duration of the increased symptoms.
The legal and medical assessment is fact-specific. The Guidelines should not be used to assume that every symptom following an accident was caused by it.
What if an injury is not expressly listed?
For a novel or infrequent injury, the Guidelines say a court should seek to value it by reference to the guided damages for equally significant injuries, so that the result remains fair and proportionate. This is another reason a bracket search is not the same as an individual valuation.
Current Guidelines and proposed amendments
| Current legal Guidelines | The 2021 Personal Injuries Guidelines, effective from 24 April 2021 |
|---|---|
| Draft second edition | Published but not legally effective |
| Proposed change to figures | Overall 16.7% increase in the draft amendments |
| Figures to use now | The existing 2021 Guidelines until amendments complete the required process and take effect |
The Judicial Council submitted draft amendments to the Minister for Justice after its January 2025 meeting. The draft document must still complete the statutory approval and adoption process before it becomes legally effective.
This page will be reviewed when an authoritative source confirms a change. A proposed or announced change will not be presented as current law.
What happened to the Book of Quantum?
The Guidelines apply to Injuries Resolution Board assessments made from 24 April 2021 and to court actions governed by the new regime. The 2021 legislation preserves the Book of Quantum for defined transitional cases, so the applicable framework cannot be determined from the accident date alone.
Use the calculator as an exploration tool
The Injured.ie calculator lets a reader explore selected body-area categories and ranges in the current Guidelines. It provides general information only and is not a complete reproduction of the Guidelines.
It cannot decide:
- which medical diagnosis is correct;
- whether another party is liable;
- whether the accident caused the injury;
- where an individual falls within a range;
- the combined effect of multiple injuries;
- financial losses or expenses; or
- the outcome of a claim.
Evidence that may matter
For Guidelines purposes, medical records and reports may address the diagnosis, treatment, duration of symptoms, recovery, continuing problems and prognosis. The evidence required differs from case to case.
Evidence about the accident, liability and financial loss belongs to the broader evidence guide rather than the Guidelines framework.
When individual advice may be useful
The Guidelines provide a framework, not a complete legal assessment. Individual advice may be useful where the diagnosis or prognosis is uncertain, several injuries are involved, an existing condition may have been aggravated, liability is disputed, or significant financial losses are claimed.
Lalloo Solicitors is a Dublin personal-injury practice operated by Dalippe Lalloo as a sole practitioner. Read about the firm’s approach to personal-injury matters and the circumstances in which legal assistance may help.
personal injury solicitor in Dublin
This information is general and is not a prediction of liability, settlement or award. A solicitor-and-client relationship does not arise unless Lalloo Solicitors confirms its appointment in writing.
Practical questions
Are the proposed 16.7% increases in force?
No. At the date this guide was checked, the Injuries Resolution Board stated that the 2021 Guidelines remain the legal Guidelines and that the proposed amendments are still draft. The position must be checked again before relying on any figure.
Are the Guidelines legally binding?
The Supreme Court confirmed in Delaney v Personal Injuries Assessment Board & Ors that the Guidelines have legal effect through legislation. Later legislation preserved the continuing validity of the 2021 Guidelines and revised the future amendment process.
Can a court depart from the Guidelines?
A court must have regard to the Guidelines. If it departs from the applicable range, it must state its reasons. Departure is not an unrestricted alternative to applying the framework.
Do the Guidelines include loss of earnings and medical expenses?
No. The guideline brackets concern general damages. Properly supported loss of earnings, medical expenses and other financial losses are considered separately.
Can I add several injury brackets together?
No. Multiple-injury assessment is not a mathematical addition of separate ranges. The overall effect of the injuries must be considered in a fair and proportionate way.
What medical evidence is needed?
That depends on the injury and the issues in the case. Medical evidence commonly addresses diagnosis, treatment, duration, prognosis, continuing symptoms and whether the condition is attributable to the accident.
Does the calculator predict compensation?
No. It displays guideline information. It cannot determine liability, causation, the correct medical category, special damages, settlement or the outcome of an individual claim.
Which date decides whether the Guidelines apply?
Do not rely only on the accident date. The statutory transitional rules can depend on the stage reached by a claim or court proceedings. Older matters require a case-specific check.
Official sources
- Injuries Resolution Board — current Guidelines status
- Judicial Council — 2021 Personal Injuries Guidelines
- Judicial Council — Guidelines Committee and amendment timeline
- Judicial Council — draft-amendment explanation
- Supreme Court — Delaney v PIAB & Ors [2024] IESC 10 summary
- Irish Statute Book — 24 April 2021 commencement order
- Irish Statute Book — Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021, section 30
- Irish Statute Book — 2024 amendment to the Guidelines process