Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Fatal accidents ordinance

Legal area

Court

29 Aug 2013

LEE MEI CHUN v. REPUBLIC OF PHILIPPINES AND OTHERS

Citation

LEE MEI CHUN v. REPUBLIC OF PHILIPPINES AND OTHERS
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI723/2013

The court held that the doctrine of absolute state immunity, as applicable in Hong Kong under PRC law since 1997, deprived the court of jurisdiction to hear claims against the Republic of the Philippines; accordingly the claims against the Republic were struck out under Order 18 rule 19 and the court's inherent jurisdiction, with directions given for the further conduct of proceedings against non‑state defendants.
29 Dec 2005

CHEUNG KAI CHI v. CHUN WO CONTRACTORS LTD AND ANOTHER

Citation

CHEUNG KAI CHI v. CHUN WO CONTRACTORS LTD AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI572/2004

Defendants were liable for the death due to breaches of statutory safety duties and workplace negligence; deceased was contributorily negligent to 25% reducing damages; damages for bereavement, past and future dependency, loss of accumulation and special damages were quantified per evidence and established multipliers; prior employees' compensation awards were deducted, leaving net payable HK$139,675.85; interest and costs orders follow.
25 Feb 2005

YARDWAY MOTORS LTD v. TAM SIU LUN

Citation

YARDWAY MOTORS LTD v. TAM SIU LUN
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV135/2003

Appeal dismissed. The Court held that the Civil Liability (Contribution) Ordinance s3 permits recovery of contribution where there is a common liability in respect of the same damage to the same person (dependant/estate); CLCO thereby enables the employer to claim contribution in this case because the ECO s6 recipients were also dependants so there was common liability. By contrast, ECO s25 is to be read as not providing for recovery by an employer who is himself partly at fault; s25 addresses the blameless employer and does not provide an apportionment mechanism for employer fault. CLCO righ…
5 Oct 1999

Chung Yi Yuen v. Lau Koon Shing and Another

Citation

Chung Yi Yuen v. Lau Koon Shing and Another
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV46/1999

The Court of Appeal concluded that the question whether an intended administrator may institute and pursue proceedings in his own name prior to obtaining letters of administration and the correct interpretation of Order 15 rule 6A vis-à-vis section 55A is a question of great general or public importance; accordingly the court made an order under section 22(1)(b) referring the question to the Court of Final Appeal and accepted the plaintiff's undertaking to notify defendants within 24 hours of any grant of representation.
24 Nov 1998

WONG KING TAI v. LAU KA KUI AND ANOTHER

Citation

WONG KING TAI v. LAU KA KUI AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI488/1996

On the admissible evidence the court found the 1st defendant negligent in driving and the deceased also materially negligent; liability was apportioned equally (50/50). In absence of evidence displacing the ownership presumption, the 2nd defendant was vicariously liable. Claims for dependency and accumulation failed for lack of proof. Damages assessed and reduced by 50% leading to judgment for HKD 77,895.50 with specified interest and costs nisi.
21 May 1997

YAU WONG FUI v. WINNING FIRE ENGINEERING LIMITED AND OTHERS

Citation

YAU WONG FUI v. WINNING FIRE ENGINEERING LIMITED AND OTHERS
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI110/1996

Court found for the Plaintiff: the 1st Defendant (Winning Fire Engineering Ltd) was the direct employer and breached its duty to provide a safe system of work and is vicariously liable for employee negligence; the 2nd Defendant (Hung Sun Building Construction Co Ltd) as principal contractor and occupier was negligent, breached Construction Sites (Safety) Regulations and is liable for the operator's negligence; there was no contributory negligence by the deceased; liability apportioned 1st Defendant 20%, 2nd Defendant 75%, 3rd Defendant 5%; total damages payable into court ordered.
8 Apr 1986

NG SZE NUI AND ANOTHER v. YIP WAI KWONG

Citation

NG SZE NUI AND ANOTHER v. YIP WAI KWONG
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA3865/1984

On the balance of probabilities the defendant was negligent in driving too fast and failing to heed vehicles on the road; plaintiffs entitled to damages under LARCO (which merge with FAO claims for estate beneficiaries) and the deceased's mother entitled to a separate FAO award; funeral meal costs disallowed and overall funeral award reduced to a reasonable amount; interest and costs awarded to plaintiffs with specified reductions.
3 Jul 1985

WONG WAI HAN AND OTHERS v. KOWLOON MOTOR BUS CO (1933) LTD AND ANOTHER

Citation

WONG WAI HAN AND OTHERS v. KOWLOON MOTOR BUS CO (1933) LTD AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA8272/1983

The court held that the correct method for assessing LARCO damages is the free balance approach: determine the deceased's net income during lost years, deduct personal expenditure and an apportioned share of joint family expenditure, apply appropriate multipliers for future earnings and pensions, and calculate tax; applying that method the plaintiffs were entitled to judgment. The defendants' alternative dependency+10% method and suggested annual adjustments for changed family contributions were rejected.
21 Jun 1984

LAI TAT WAH AND ANOTHER v. FRANKI CONTRACTORS LTD

Citation

LAI TAT WAH AND ANOTHER v. FRANKI CONTRACTORS LTD
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA11169/1983

Section 26(1) of the Employees' Compensation Ordinance is intended to prevent double recovery and therefore an award under the Ordinance is to be set off against damages recovered under the Fatal Accidents Ordinance or LARCO only where the compensation and the damages fall into the same beneficiary's hands; compensation paid to a different beneficiary (here the cohabitee) does not reduce the estate's LARCO award. The conventional award for loss of expectation of life is increased to $20,000.
24 Jun 1983

WONG KWAN AND OTHERS v. LUI WING AND ANOTHER

Citation

WONG KWAN AND OTHERS v. LUI WING AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA10239/1982

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.