WONG KWAN AND OTHERS v. LUI WING AND ANOTHER

WONG KWAN AND OTHERS v. LUI WING AND ANOTHER

The court held that LARCO lost years are calculated by deducting the deceased's living expenses from income to produce a free balance, adjusting that free balance for inflation to present value, multiplying the annualised present free balance by an appropriate multiplier (15 here after accounting for loss to date),...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
WONG KWAN AND OTHERS v. LUI WING AND ANOTHER
Parties
1st Plaintiff (lawful Administrator of the Estate of Wong Sing Kau, Deceased): WONG KWAN; 2nd Plaintiff (lawful Administratrix to the Estate of Fung Chun, Deceased): CHEUNG FUNG; 1st Defendant: LUI WING; 2nd Defendant: KWONG CHEUK KAI
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
24 June 1983
Case Number
HCA10239/1982
Procedural Posture
Fatal Accidents / LARCO Damages Claim / Assessment Hearing (post Interlocutory Judgment)
Outcome
Assessment granted in favour of plaintiffs in the amounts calculated by the court and interest as specified.
Legal Topics
Law Amendment Reform Consolidation Ordinance (larco), Fatal Accidents Ordinance, Calculation of Lost Years, Interest on Damages, Loss of Expectation of Life
Source Language
en
Torts Wrongful Death Damages Statutory Interpretation Law Amendment Reform Consolidation Ordinance (larco) Fatal Accidents Ordinance Calculation of Lost Years Interest on Damages +1 more

Source-derived case record

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 5 Authorities cited 5 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 5
Sign in to unlock

Parties

WONG KWAN

1st Plaintiff (lawful Administrator of the Estate of Wong Sing Kau, Deceased)

CHEUNG FUNG

2nd Plaintiff (lawful Administratrix to the Estate of Fung Chun, Deceased)

LUI WING

1st Defendant

KWONG CHEUK KAI

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Fatal Accidents / LARCO Damages Claim / Assessment Hearing (post Interlocutory Judgment)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 How to calculate the deceased's free balance for LARCO lost years award
  2. 2 Appropriate multiplier for future loss
  3. 3 Whether and how interest is payable on awards and which rate applies

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that LARCO lost years are calculated by deducting the deceased's living expenses from income to produce a free balance, adjusting that free balance for inflation to present value, multiplying the annualised present free balance by an appropriate multiplier (15 here after accounting for loss to date), and awarding interest on the pre-trial proportion of that lost years award at the specified rate; separate awards for funeral expenses, loss of expectation of life and pre-trial lost wages are appropriate and do not require reduction of the multiplier.

Court Disposition

Assessment granted in favour of plaintiffs in the amounts calculated by the court and interest as specified.

Orders

  • Awarded LARCO lost years damages calculated as HK$421200 (2,340 x 12 x 15)
  • Interest on pre-trial proportion of lost years (3/15 of HK$421,200) at 7% per annum from 7.12.1982 to assessment date