The High Court awarded Garda Kampff €5,000 for pain and suffering from a hand injury sustained while arresting a suspect, rejecting his counsel’s submission that compensation should be about €21,700. The judgment, delivered by Mr Justice Twomey on 25 June 2018, concerned the assessment of damages under the Garda Síochána compensation legislation.
The injury occurred on 1 September 2013, when Garda Kampff struck his hand against shelving. An MRI found no fracture but showed bone bruising. His hand was strapped and placed in a sling, and he received anti-inflammatories. He did not need pain medication or physiotherapy, took five days of sick leave and recovered. The judge noted that Garda Kampff said in evidence that his hand took a year to become fully better, but considered that account against the medical evidence and applied a degree of scepticism. The judgment said this did not impugn his honesty. The parties had agreed special damages of €1,185.
Counsel for Garda Kampff relied on the 2016 Book of Quantum, which listed awards of up to €21,700 for minor hand injuries. The judge held that the guide was not binding in Garda compensation claims. Applying principles from appellate and Supreme Court decisions on proportionality, average earnings and fairness to both sides, he found €5,000 appropriate for pain and suffering. He said an award close to €21,700 would be disproportionate to the injury and risked narrowing the difference between awards for modest and more serious injuries.
The judgment also addressed how Garda compensation claims are handled. It said the legislation required the claim to be heard in the High Court, even though the award was below the District Court’s €15,000 maximum. The judge estimated that the State would pay €15,000 to €20,000 in legal costs for the case, including costs for both sides, while noting that the estimate was pending figures from the Chief State Solicitor’s Office.
Justice Twomey criticised the lack of incentives and procedures for settling these claims and suggested that legislative changes could allow lower-value cases to be handled in lower courts or assessed by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. Those observations were recommendations for reform; the judgment did not change the statutory process. The court’s order in this case was compensation of €5,000 for pain and suffering, alongside the agreed special damages of €1,185.