In January 2026, Julian Chamberlayne, Head of International Injury and Aviation at Stewarts, responded to the Personal Injury Discount Rate (“PIDR”) consultations in relation to both Scotland and Northern Ireland in his capacity as chair of the Forum of Complex Injuries Solicitors (FOCIS). In this article, Julian reviews these responses.

FOCIS welcomed the proposals for both Scotland and Northern Ireland to align the inflationary component of the PIDR with the methodology used in England and Wales. This alignment is an important step towards ensuring consistency across UK jurisdictions, which will promote fairness for seriously injured claimants and reduce artificial divergence in outcomes based solely on geography.

The PIDR needs to be fair to each and every claimant who has been seriously injured, as they each only get one chance to recover compensation that is intended to meet their individual needs for their entire lifetime. In contrast insurers and institutions can absorb the effects of potential over or under-compensation across large portfolios of claims.

Data submitted by FOCIS to the Ministry of Justice in 2024 showed that most types of future loss (83%) in serious injury claims are affected by earnings-related inflation rather than general price inflation. So, for inflation to be fairly dealt with when setting the PIDR, either an earnings index should be used, or if the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) is used, a significant adjustment is required.

The biggest single component of serious injury claims is the cost of care, which is likely to be subject to even greater inflation than average earnings due to the combination of increasing demand for health and social care, coupled with a restricted supply of labour with the appropriate skills.

Another significant area for seriously injured claimants is the cost of the specialist aids and equipment that will help them throughout their lifetime. In its responses, FOCIS was able to refer to data it had gathered in 2023, which demonstrated that the like-for-like cost of a particular prosthetic model had risen by 131% over a 25-year period compared to a 79% increase in the CPI. That disparity has worsened, with modern lower-limb prostheses costing 200-500% more than when they were first calculated for compensation.

Therefore, it is crucial that the CPI is adjusted to accurately and fairly reflect real inflationary pressures experienced by claimants with life-changing injuries.

It is a well-known and long-standing phenomenon in developing economies that earnings inflation outstrips price inflation. The Office for Budget Responsibility reported in 2022 that long-term real earnings growth is expected to be 1.8% above CPI. Applying this to FOCIS’s evidence that 83% of future losses are earnings-related means that an appropriate adjustment to CPI would be +1.5%.

The Scottish consultations also raised inflationary related questions concerning the indexation of periodical payments. FOCIS responded to propose that the Scottish rules give their judges discretion to select the inflationary index that is the best match for the loss in question. Notably, ASHE 6115 (the median annual gross earnings for full-time males in skilled trades) will usually be best suited for periodical payments for care costs to try to ensure that they keep pace with wage inflation in the care workforce during the claimant’s lifetime.

FOCIS also expressed its concern about the delay in implementing the legislation in Scotland for periodical payments (Part 2 of the Damages (Investment Returns and Periodical Payments) (Scotland) Act 2019). This is particularly problematic for the most seriously injured, who may have shortened life expectancy, because periodical payments are the most appropriate mechanism for ensuring financial security to meet their needs.

The final theme of the Scottish consultation was a proposal for a change to the judicial interest rate, to just 1.5% above the Bank of England base rate. FOCIS responded that such a rate would be unfair to claimants, many of whom are unable to work and often fall into debt because of their injuries. FOCIS cautioned that interest rates should reflect real borrowing or debt conditions faced by many injured claimants.

FOCIS awaits the outcome of both of these consultations, as they are important to ensure full compensation for anyone who sustains serious injuries in Scotland or Northern Ireland (or otherwise has claims subject to their laws).

You can visit the FOCIS website news page here.