THE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OFLAW WING SANG, DECEASED (FOR THE TIME BEING LAW YIU CHAN) v. WONG KWOK WAI t/a SUPPER REPAIRING CO

HCPI 225/2008

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

PERSONAL INJURIES ACTION NO. 225 OF 2008

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ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES

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1.  Mr. Law Wing Sang was born in Hong Kong on 17 May 1976.  Having graduated from his secondary education, he worked as an air-conditioner repair worker, a surveyor and then a technician at garage.  Unfortunately, on 1 July 2005, he (“the Deceased”) died as a result of an industrial accident.

2.  The Deceased came from a family of 8 members, namely, his parents, 4 sisters and a grandmother.  Three of his sisters were working adult having moved from home.  At the time of the accident, the Deceased was the breadwinner of the family.  The parents and grandmother were dependent on him.

3.  On 26 March 2008, the father of the Deceased commenced the present proceedings for common law damages against the Defendant.  No defence was filed and interlocutory judgment was entered for the Plaintiff on 16 June 2008.

4.  Assessment of damages then took place on 2 March 2009 before this Court.  All papers were duly served on the Defendant but he did not appear at the scheduled date.  Miss Jolie Chao, Counsel for the Plaintiff, led me go through her case and called the Deceased’s younger sister, Miss Law Lai Fan to testify in the witness box.  On balance, the Plaintiff’s case is accepted.

5.  This is my assessment of the damages.

Bereavement

6.  The statutory sum of $150,000 bereavement is allowed under sections 4(2)(f) and 4(3) of the Fatal Accidents Ordinance, Cap.22 (“FAO”).

Pre-trial Loss of Dependencies

7.  On balance, I agree to accept the Plaintiff’s case that the Deceased contributed about $4,000 per month towards the household expenses for the family.  The pre-trial loss of dependencies is therefore $176,000 ($4,000 x 44 months).

8.  Since the Father needed a bit more medical expenses than the Mother and the Grandmother, the said sum of $176,000 will be divided by the Dependents in the followings.

	$
The Father $1,480 x 44	65,120
The Mother $1,260 x 44	55,440
The Grandmother $1,260 x 44	55,440
	176,000

Post-trial Loss of Dependencies

9.  Miss Chao proposed different multipliers for the Father, the Mother and the Grandmother due to their respective ages at the date of trial, namely, 68, 64 and 91.  I find her suggestion of 8, 12 and 5 reasonable in the circumstances.  Hence, the post-trial loss of dependencies is awarded at $264,700.

	$
The Father $1,480 (8 x 12 – 44) =	76,960
The Mother $1,260 (12 x 12 – 44) =	126,000
The Grandmother $1,260 (5 x 12 – 44) =	20,160
	223,120

Loss of Accumulation of Wealth

10.  The Deceased was a hardworking, responsible and healthy man at his late twenties at the time of accident.  Having further considered his insurance policy and savings of about $15,000 when he passed away, I agree to the estimate of Miss Chao that he should be able to accumulate wealth of not less than $300,000.  I so order accordingly.

Funeral expenses

11.  Receipts of $81,030 were produced to show funeral expenses having been spent.  They are awarded according to section 20(2)(b)(i) of the Law Amendment and Reform (Consolidation) Ordinance, Cap.23 (“LARCO”).

Summary

12.  In summary, I award the following damages to the Plaintiff.

	FAO	$	$
(1)	Bereavement		150,000
(2)	Pre-trial loss of dependencies		176,000
(3)	Post-trial loss of dependencies		223,120
			549,120
	LARCO
(4)	Loss of accumulation of wealth	300,000
(5)	Funeral expenses	81,030	381,030
			930,150

Interest and Costs

13.  The Plaintiff is further entitled to interest at half of the judgment rate from the date of the accident to the date hereof in relation to the pre-trial loss of dependencies and funeral expenses.  As to other items, interest is to be calculated at the prevailing rate of the suitor’s fund from the date of death to the date of judgment herein.

14.  Finally, as the Plaintiff has obtained a judgment of $726,947.12 under the ECC claim, it is to be deducted from the said sum of $930,150.  Hence, the award to be made in the present action is $203,202.88 together with interest.

15.  The Defendant shall also pay costs of the Assessment to the Plaintiff, on District Court scale, including all costs reserved as well as Certificate for Counsel for the hearing on 2 March 2009, to be taxed if not agreed. Such costs order nisi is to be made absolute after 14 days from the date hereof.