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It’s a numbers game: Paul Kitson on personal injury damages

This episode of the Law Report focuses on personal injury, in particular, damages and how they are calculated. This is an intermediate level course.



The central purpose of a civil law award of damages is to compensate the claimant for the damage, loss or injury they’ve suffered and, as far as possible, to put them in the same position they would have been if this hadn’t occurred.

Damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity are calculated with reference to guidelines published by the Judicial Studies Board. Future pecuniary losses are calculated using the Ogden Tables, which were updated in 2007.

The Government has also recently carried out a consultation into the law on damages as part of its work to tackle the perceptions of a compensation culture and improve the compensation system for valid claims.

The information in this podcast represented the legal position when it was recorded on 20/08/2007

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Aims and Outcomes

This podcast explores the principles underlying personal injury damages and how they are applied in practice.

It will be useful for any lawyer wanting to understand more about this area of the law or specialist practitioners wanting further insight into the implications of recent developments, including the sixth edition of the Ogden tables.

The interview lasts for 31 minutes. It will take you a further 20 minutes to complete the questionnaire. You will need to get 50 per cent of the questions right to gain your CPD.

Learning outcomes

After listening to the interview, you will understand:

  • The underlying principle of compensation in personal injury cases
  • The principle of non-pecuniary loss and its application to general damages
  • Application of the JSB guidelines
  • The courts’ approach to multiple injuries
  • Other heads of general damages, particularly Smith -v- Manchester awards
  • Financial and pecuniary loss
  • The sixth edition of the Ogden tables and using the multiplier method to calculate future losses
  • The implications of the Government’s consultation paper on damages
Paul Kitson
Paul Kitson

Paul Kitson has been a partner at Russell Jones & Walker since 1992. He joined RJW after qualifying as a solicitor in 1987. Paul has been managing partner of the London personal injury department since 1998 and the joint head of national personal injury since 2005.

Paul is a claimant personal injury specialist and has particular expertise in RTA and sports injury litigation. He has a niche practice in cycling injury claims and is RJW’s client partner for the CTC, the UK's national cycling organisation.

Paul is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and a past coordinator of its Greater London regional group (1998-2002). He is also a past committee member of British Association for Sport & Law (1995-1998).

Paul acted for the appellants in the landmark House of Lords case Wells v Wells. Paul also obtained a record award of damages for an industrial accident in Page v Sheerness Steel (£1 million).

Paul is recognised as a Leader in his Field and described as a "class act" in Chambers and Partners (2007). It has also described him as "organised and realistic - he doesn't raise false expectations. He gets on with things sensibly and gets to the nub of the matter." (2004).

The Legal 500, 2006 edition, acclaimed him as "a very careful and considered lawyer who gets on particularly well with clients".