Landmark Ruling

On the 5th November 2015, the Court of Appeal handed down its Decision in the case of Gill Russell –v- HSE.  The Medical Negligence Team at Cantillons had represented Gill Russell in the High Court, where he got a significant award.  In the High Court, Mr. Justice Kevin Cross made pronouncements on the Law in relation to the manner in which damages were to be calculated in the future, in cases such as Gill Russell’s where there is likely to be significant future expenditure.    The Court dealt with the legal / economic issue of the Real Rate of Return.     The Team at Cantillons argued that the Real Rate of Return should be reduced from 3% to 1%, with a consequence that the award for Gill would be significantly increased.  The Court accepted Cantillons argument, and awarded over €15 million to Gill.  The HSE Appealed Mr. Justice Cross’s reasoning in relation to the Real Rate of Return.  In a landmark Decision, the Court of Appeal rejected the HSE’s Appeal, and confirmed the Decision of Mr. Justice Cross.   This is a ground breaking case, because it affects all other cases of catastrophic injury.  Share on Social