Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Bereavement

Legal area

Court

18 Jun 2024

NG KIN YUEN, the administrator of NG OI HA, deceased v. LAI CHUN HO AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2024] HKCFI 1644
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI390/2018

Court allowed assessment to proceed on the basis that the Revised Statement of Damages was incorporated into the witness statement and limited Plaintiff to that evidence; found on balance that the Deceased was a co-operator of the Mirror Shop entitled to 50% of profits, accepted rental incomes and some documentary evidence, rejected speculative stock income, accepted dependency awards for three siblings (seasonal red packets limited by multiplier 5) and child-minding loss for eldest son only, adopted multiplier 5 for accumulation claim (notional retirement age 70), calculated net monthly savi…
29 Dec 2023

KO SIU YIN, the administratrix of the estate of CHAN KAM POR, deceased v. LAI CHUN HO AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2023] HKDC 1740
Court

District Court
Case number

DCPI422/2023

Court accepted plaintiff's credible evidence that the deceased paid HK$5,000 per month in cash and would have worked until at least age 70; Transport Department statistics did not support defendant's contention that unrest/COVID would have forced earlier retirement or substantially reduced income; absence of documentary proof was explained by cash trade and did not undermine credibility; award of HK$5,000 per month for 100 months (HK$500,000) for pre-judgment dependency plus statutory bereavement and proved funeral expenses follows.
7 Dec 2022

YEUNG PAK KWAN as administrator of the estate of LAM FAN, deceased v. CHEN DECANG

Citation

[2022] HKCFI 3605
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI994/2012

Court accepted plaintiff's quantifications largely as reasonable, adopted an averaging method starting in 1987 to calculate annual accumulation, found the Deceased would have accumulated further wealth to notional retirement, applied no discount for accelerated receipt because defendant's incarceration made payment before retirement unrealizable, awarded specified sums to Steven and Lily for pre‑ and post‑trial dependency and awarded loss of accumulation to the estate, allowed funeral and cinerary expenses, refused to make a bereavement award to survivors because statute prescribes entitlemen…
14 Jul 2022

GURUNG GAM BAHADUR, the administrator of the estate of GURUNG ANEL alias GURUNG ANAL, deceased v. UNITED CONSTRUCTION & MANPOWER SERVICE LTD AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2022] HKCFI 2163
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI502/2019

Court found on balance of probabilities that the Deceased would have supported his parents and sister but not the grandmother separately. Awarded parents HK$5,000 per month combined (HK$2,500 each) and sister HK$10,000 per month for the period of study. Calculated pre-trial and post-trial losses accordingly (pre-trial parents HK$317,500; post-trial father HK$543,300 and mother HK$773,400 using agreed multipliers; sister HK$600,000 for 60 months). Rejected defendants' submission to deduct annual dependency from accumulated savings and accepted estate claim for loss of accumulation of wealth on…
3 Nov 2017

CHUNG SUI CHEONG the administrator of the estate of CHUNG WAI MAN JOSEPH deceased v. TSANG WAI HUNG

Citation

CHUNG SUI CHEONG the administrator of the estate of CHUNG WAI MAN JOSEPH deceased v. TSANG WAI HUNG
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI1058/2015

Court accepted only part of plaintiff's dependency claim: awarded $3,000 per month contribution and $600 per month for meals (total $3,600 monthly), rejected the $8,000 rent claim as unproved and illegal under the Home Ownership Scheme, fixed pre-trial dependency at $172,800 and post-trial dependency at $648,864; assessed loss of accumulation under LARCO after analysing income, expenditure, MPF, retirement and accelerated receipt and awarded $530,000; awarded bereavement $150,000, PSLA $40,000 and funeral expenses $361,188; applied specified interest rates and made costs order nisi against de…
28 Jul 2017

TANG TAK CHUNG, THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF TANG CHING TONG, DECEASED v. CHUNG FAN SHENG

Citation

TANG TAK CHUNG,<br>THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF TANG CHING TONG, DECEASED v. CHUNG FAN SHENG
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI749/2015

The master accepted the uncontradicted expert medical evidence that the defendant wrongly diagnosed hyperthyroidism as hypothyroidism and prescribed an excessive dose of thyroxine which caused thyroid storm and the deceased's death; the parents were accepted as dependants and the specified calculations and conventional multiplier methodology produce the awarded sums for PSLA, bereavement, pretrial and posttrial dependency, loss of accumulation and special damages, with interest and costs awarded as set out.
21 Aug 2014

WAN LAI FONG, ADMINISTRATRIX OF THE ESTATE OF KWOK TAK CHUNG, DECEASED v. WONG SHIU KEI t/a WAN MEI ENGINEERING COMPANY

Citation

WAN LAI FONG, ADMINISTRATRIX OF THE ESTATE OF KWOK TAK CHUNG, DECEASED v. WONG SHIU KEI t/a WAN MEI ENGINEERING COMPANY
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI508/2013

In a fatal accident damages assessment the multiplier for future dependency is to be fixed as at the date of death (with apportionment to reflect the pre-trial period), statutory bereavement is awarded under the Fatal Accidents Ordinance, the deceased's earnings are adjusted using reliable statistical data and accepted authorities, deductions are made for employees' compensation received, and awards are quantified accordingly.
13 Apr 2011

TING KAM YUEN v. CHEUNG WING KIN AND ANOTHER

Citation

TING KAM YUEN v. CHEUNG WING KIN AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI288/1996

Bereavement awarded at statutory HK$150,000 and pre-trial dependency at HK$333,450 (total HK$483,450). Insurance compensation and gratuity paid to dependants (RMB11,520 and RMB8,480 totalling RMB20,000) were benefits accruing as a result of the death and therefore are to be disregarded in assessing FAO damages under s7; pain and suffering claim rejected for lack of evidence of conscious suffering; interest applied as per interlocutory judgment (bereavement at 2% pa from date of death; pre-trial losses at half judgment rate from date of accident to judgment, then judgment rate); costs ordered…
5 Nov 2010

AU WAI MUI v. FAN WU KEE AND ANOTHER

Citation

AU WAI MUI v. FAN WU KEE AND ANOTHER
Court

District Court
Case number

DCPI2239/2009

On the evidence of the deceased's academic performance, awards and teachers' comments the court found it probable he would obtain tertiary education and work in electronics/IT or as a Tae Kwon Do instructor, accept a monthly parental contribution of $6,000 and apply a multiplier of 9, awarding $648,000 for loss of dependency and $100,000 for loss of accumulation of wealth; total assessed damages $952,370, with defendants 30% liable, yielding recovery of $285,981 plus interest and costs in accordance with the judgment.
10 Nov 2009

HUNG CHOR HUNG JOHN v. LI KWOK KIN AND ANOTHER

Citation

HUNG CHOR HUNG JOHN v. LI KWOK KIN AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI251/2009

Taking the plaintiff's case at its highest for the interlocutory transfer application, the court found a reasonable average multiplicand over the whole period would not exceed HK$5,000 per month and, using the pleaded multiplier of 11, any award for loss of services would not exceed HK$660,000; combined with undisputed bereavement and funeral sums and estimated interest the total was within District Court jurisdiction, therefore the action was transferred to the District Court and costs of the application ordered against the plaintiff.