US Court decision could Trigger PI Claims in Ireland

US Court decision – Trigger Personal Injury Claims in Ireland

Thousands of personal injuries claims could be made against American companies in the Irish courts because of a landmark US Supreme Court decision, the Irish Independent reports. The ruling in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. vs Superior Court of California is understood to effectively prevent people outside the US seeking compensation in the US courts unless the harm was caused there.

However, claimants worldwide could bring claims in Ireland instead. The Supreme Court held that the California courts lacked specific jurisdiction to entertain claims from non-resident plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit brought over a medication’s alleged side effects. The court said: “It does not prevent the California and out-of-state plaintiffs from joining together in a consolidated action in the States that have general jurisdiction over BMS. Alternatively, the non-resident plaintiffs could probably sue together in their respective home States.” The court’s ruling attempts to clamp down on claimants bringing litigation in the states with higher compensation pay-outs.

Some lawyers now believe that, deprived of that option, claimants from countries as far as Australia and New Zealand will bring cases in Ireland in a bid to seek higher compensation payments than at home. Solicitor Liam Moloney from Naas, who was recently elected to the board of governors of the American Association for Justice, said: “It now seems that all of the multinationals who have registered in Ireland could be faced with lawsuits here rather than in the United States.”

Irish Independent.

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