TSANG MEI YING AND ANOTHER v. LAM PAK CHIU AND ANOTHER

TSANG MEI YING AND ANOTHER v. LAM PAK CHIU AND ANOTHER

Court must calculate dependency from the deceased's net contribution to the household, deduct a modest allowance for the deceased's own keep, apply appropriate multipliers for the age and trade of the deceased, and separately assess loss of accumulation and widow's loss of earnings; applying these principles the court accepted 6% annual earnings growth, specified monthly dependency figures and multipliers and awarded total damages of HKD 2,087,277 plus interest and costs.

Citation
TSANG MEI YING AND ANOTHER v. LAM PAK CHIU AND ANOTHER
Parties
Plaintiff/administratrix of the Estate of to Shing Chiu (deceased): TSANG MEI YING; Plaintiff/administratrix of the Estate of to Shing Chiu (deceased): SO SAU LIN; 1st Defendant: LAM PAK CHIU; 2nd Defendant: CHEUNG KEE FUNG CHEUNG CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LIMITED
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
16 April 1999
Case Number
HCPI544/1998
Procedural Posture
Fatal Accidents / Personal Injury Claim (assessment of Damages) / Judgment on Assessment of Damages (court of First Instance)
Outcome
Judgment for the Plaintiffs
Legal Topics
Dependency, Bereavement Award, Funeral Expenses, Loss of Earnings, Loss of Accumulation of Wealth, Interest, Legal Aid Taxation
Source Language
EN
Tort Personal Injury Damages Assessment Fatal Accidents Act Matters Dependency Bereavement Award Funeral Expenses Loss of Earnings +3 more

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Parties

TSANG MEI YING

Plaintiff/administratrix of the Estate of to Shing Chiu (deceased)

SO SAU LIN

Plaintiff/administratrix of the Estate of to Shing Chiu (deceased)

LAM PAK CHIU

1st Defendant

CHEUNG KEE FUNG CHEUNG CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LIMITED

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Fatal Accidents / Personal Injury Claim (assessment of Damages) / Judgment on Assessment of Damages (court of First Instance)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Appropriate method to calculate dependency and apportionment among dependants
  2. 2 Appropriate multiplier and discount for deceased's own living expenses
  3. 3 Calculation of loss of accumulation of wealth

Ratio Decidendi

Court must calculate dependency from the deceased's net contribution to the household, deduct a modest allowance for the deceased's own keep, apply appropriate multipliers for the age and trade of the deceased, and separately assess loss of accumulation and widow's loss of earnings; applying these principles the court accepted 6% annual earnings growth, specified monthly dependency figures and multipliers and awarded total damages of HKD 2,087,277 plus interest and costs.

Court Disposition

Judgment for the Plaintiffs

Orders

  • Judgment for the Plaintiff in the sum of HKD 2,087,277 with interest
  • Interest on items A (pre-trial dependency), D(1) (pre-trial widow's loss of earnings) and F (funeral expenses) to be at half rates from date of the accident; parties to agree the calculation