We have seen a rise in compensation awards in Northern Ireland since last year's publication of the Sixth Edition, Judicial Studies Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal injury Cases in Northern Ireland otherwise known as "the Green book".
With the rise in compensation awards and the rise in inflation we anticipate the Belfast Solicitors' Association (BSA) guide to High Court Costs and County Court scale costs will be revised in the not too distant future.
On 1 January 2025 the revised version of the Comerton Scale was published which sets out a recommended table of fees which barristers are entitled to in High Court personal injury actions. The last publication of the Comerton Scale was in 2019.
The scale is published as a guide to potentially avoid lengthy disputes and alleviate the requirement to proceed to taxation before the Taxing Master.
When marking their fee, Counsel should consider what is a reasonable fee in accordance with the principles set out in Simpson Motor Sales (London) –v- Hendon Corporation [1964] 3 All ER 833; Boyd –v-Ellison [1995] NI 435, and David William James Crozier by John David Crozier his next friend – v- Derek Lyons [2004] NIQB 18. Judge Weir in the Crozier case at Paragraph 10 outlines the principles of what is established as a "fair and reasonable brief fee" as follows: -
"[10] The principles governing the proper approach to the assessment of Senior Counsel's brief fee have been the subject of much judicial consideration in this jurisdiction and elsewhere. I consider it to be now well established that a fair and reasonable brief fee should be taxed as that which a hypothetical counsel of appropriate ability and experience would properly agree with the solicitor at the time of delivery of the brief for a matter of that nature, difficulty, complexity, responsibility and value."
The scale level in the table relates to standard or straight forward personal injury actions and fee levels may vary depending on the nature of the claim, the complexity of the case, difficulty or novelty of the issues involved, the length or anticipated length of any trial and the degree of work required of Counsel or involving substantial compromise.
The categories used to calculate the fees remain unchanged since the 2019 publication, i.e. the fee charged by Counsel varies depending upon whether the case is listed or settled by way of early negotiations and whether liability is either denied or admitted.
The percentage increase varies across the newly revised scale with the most significant increase since the last publication with a rise of 37.5 % in cases up to the value of £800,000.00, whereby the case has been listed for trial and liability is denied.
The fees assume that a Senior Counsel is acting with a Junior, it is considered reasonable for Junior Counsel to mark their fee based on 5/6 of the scale if acting without a Senior.
With the rise in compensation awards and the rise in inflation we anticipate the Belfast Solicitors' Association (BSA) guide to High Court Costs and County Court scale costs will be revised in the not too distant future.
On 1 January 2025 the revised version of the Comerton Scale was published which sets out a recommended table of fees which barristers are entitled to in High Court personal injury actions. The last publication of the Comerton Scale was in 2019.
The scale is published as a guide to potentially avoid lengthy disputes and alleviate the requirement to proceed to taxation before the Taxing Master.
When marking their fee, Counsel should consider what is a reasonable fee in accordance with the principles set out in Simpson Motor Sales (London) –v- Hendon Corporation [1964] 3 All ER 833; Boyd –v-Ellison [1995] NI 435, and David William James Crozier by John David Crozier his next friend – v- Derek Lyons [2004] NIQB 18. Judge Weir in the Crozier case at Paragraph 10 outlines the principles of what is established as a "fair and reasonable brief fee" as follows: -
"[10] The principles governing the proper approach to the assessment of Senior Counsel's brief fee have been the subject of much judicial consideration in this jurisdiction and elsewhere. I consider it to be now well established that a fair and reasonable brief fee should be taxed as that which a hypothetical counsel of appropriate ability and experience would properly agree with the solicitor at the time of delivery of the brief for a matter of that nature, difficulty, complexity, responsibility and value."
The scale level in the table relates to standard or straight forward personal injury actions and fee levels may vary depending on the nature of the claim, the complexity of the case, difficulty or novelty of the issues involved, the length or anticipated length of any trial and the degree of work required of Counsel or involving substantial compromise.
The categories used to calculate the fees remain unchanged since the 2019 publication, i.e. the fee charged by Counsel varies depending upon whether the case is listed or settled by way of early negotiations and whether liability is either denied or admitted.
The percentage increase varies across the newly revised scale with the most significant increase since the last publication with a rise of 37.5 % in cases up to the value of £800,000.00, whereby the case has been listed for trial and liability is denied.
The fees assume that a Senior Counsel is acting with a Junior, it is considered reasonable for Junior Counsel to mark their fee based on 5/6 of the scale if acting without a Senior.
What's next?
- We are likely to see an increase in the Belfast Solicitors' Association (BSA) guide to High Court Costs and County Court scale costs in Northern Ireland.
- The County Court scale costs in Northern Ireland are governed by the County Court (Amendment) Rules (Northern Ireland) 2017 which came into effect on 13th February 2018. The County Court Rules Committee have proposed to increase scale costs to take into account the rise in inflation, however this proposal has not formally come into effect.
Other news in Northern Ireland – Discuss to Progress
In February 2025 we held our second Discuss to Progress Forum in DWF Belfast. The session brought together insurance clients and industry bodies to include the ABI and the IFB. The purpose is to provide a forum for insurers to discuss the issues in the jurisdiction which are causing concern, share ideas and foster collaboration within the industry to drive positive change. Details of the next Discuss to Progress forum for NI will be provided soon.
