Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Loss of earnings

Legal area

Court

30 Mar 2026

WU TANGLUN v. CK ENGINEERING (HONG KONG) CO LTD AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2026] HKDC 555
Court

District Court
Case number

DCPI4033/2022

Defendants were jointly and severally liable because the half-built platform and system of work were obviously unsafe, the defendants had been criminally convicted for breaches of statutory safety duties which shifted the burden of proof to them, and they failed to adduce evidence to rebut negligence; plaintiff was not contributorily negligent on the facts; damages were quantified accordingly.
16 Mar 2026

CHIN MAN WO v. CHO CHUN KIT trading as YAN KIT INTERIOR DESIGN AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2026] HKDC 399
Court

District Court
Case number

DCPI1168/2022

On the balance of probabilities the court found the plaintiff's pre-accident daily wage was HK$500 and he worked 22 days per month (giving HK$11,000/month); appropriate sick leave is nine months after last physiotherapy (to end February 2021, ~17.5 months post-accident); custodial time to be deducted totals 7.5 months; pre-trial loss of earnings (including MPF) assessed at HK$115,500; loss of earning capacity awarded as two months of current income (2 x HK$14,000 = HK$28,000); PSLA HK$275,000 and special damages HK$10,000; plaintiff entitled to credit for HK$310,000 advance payments; total as…
4 Mar 2026

YU CHUN SHING v. HUSSAIN AHMED AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2026] HKDC 389
Court

District Court
Case number

DCPI286/2023

The court accepted that the accident caused an uncomplicated soft tissue lumbar injury and a mild traumatic brain injury/post‑concussion syndrome but, after evaluating the SJE reports, medical records, surveillance evidence and the plaintiff's testimony, found the plaintiff exaggerated many of his ongoing symptoms and that psychiatric symptoms did not persist beyond 15 months after the accident (recovered by 29 July 2021). Consequently the plaintiff was awarded PSLA HK$325,000, pre‑trial loss of earnings and MPF HK$308,353 and special damages HK$3,000 (total HK$636,353) with interest HK$81,77…
23 Feb 2026

LIMBU LAXMI PRASAD v. BACHY SOLETANCHE GROUP LTD AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2026] HKDC 251
Court

District Court
Case number

DCPI2190/2021

Because the defendants conceded liability the sole issue was quantum; the plaintiff was found not credible where his evidence conflicted with contemporaneous records (work record, medical notes), he had been debarred from adducing expert medical evidence, and the contemporaneous medical records demonstrated a minor soft tissue back sprain with short sick leave and return to work; accordingly damages were assessed at PSLA HK$60,000, pre-trial loss and MPF HK$9,467, special damages HK$360, no award for loss of earning capacity, totalling HK$69,827 plus interest and costs.
10 Feb 2026

IP SIU CHI v. KWAN WING HANG trading as FAI HUNG CONSTRUCTION COMPANY AND OTHERS

Citation

[2026] HKCA 204
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV217/2024

Appeal allowed: the 30% reduction for pre-existing psychiatric conditions was wrongly applied to pre-trial and post-trial loss of earnings because those losses flowed from orthopaedic injuries alone and the Judge had already factored pre-existing condition into the reduced multiplier for future loss; costs ordered on High Court scale because the action was properly commenced in the High Court when jurisdictional limit was $1,000,000 and the subsequent increase to District Court jurisdiction is not retrospective.
24 Oct 2025

SO SIN YING v. J. V. FITNESS LTD

Citation

[2025] HKCA 948
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV246/2023

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's factual findings rejecting malingering and preferring the claimant's psychiatric expert (thus accepting psychiatric causation for physical symptom amplification) and declined to disturb those findings under the 'plainly wrong' standard; the only reversible error was mathematical: failure to apply statutory MPF caps and correct tax treatment in computing loss of earnings, requiring substitution of the loss of earnings award with HK$11,186,577.69; all other grounds of appeal dismissed.
10 Oct 2025

LAM KONG YUEN 對 CHENG SHING FAT trading as SHUI FAT COOL SYSTEM CO

Citation

[2025] HKDC 1709
Court

District Court
Case number

DCEC1099/2021

Liability having been accepted by consent, the court adopted the Review Assessment Certificate of 27 July 2022 to quantify loss under ss9,10,10A of Cap.282, awarded HK$320,210, granted pre-judgment interest from 17 September 2020 at half-judgment rate and post-judgment interest at the judgment rate until payment, and ordered respondent to pay the applicant's full costs including reserved costs and counsel's fees, with unresolved costs to be taxed by the taxation officer with reference to the court's barrister's certificate.
26 Sept 2025

SHUM KWOK MING v. LAI NGOK TIM trading as HANG HING ENGINEERING CO

Citation

[2025] HKDC 1575
Court

District Court
Case number

DCPI261/2023

Liability was previously entered against defendant; on quantum the court accepted plaintiff's daily rate of HK$1,300 but reduced average working days to 18/month for pre-accident earnings, accepted sick leave of 407 days, allowed 3 months job search, adopted post-trial monthly earnings HK$16,600, applied multiplier 12.21 for future loss, awarded specific sums for PSLA, pre-trial and future losses, future medical expenses and special damages, and gave credit of HK$500,000 for employees' compensation, resulting in net assessed damages of HK$1,754,923.80 plus interest and costs.
9 Sept 2025

WANG XIUPING 對 PARAMOUNT EUPHORIC BANQUET LTD trading as 煌宴海鮮酒家

Citation

[2025] HKDC 1471
Court

District Court
Case number

DCPI219/2022

Defendant liable for negligence: stacking and moving of a high stack of chairs created a foreseeable risk and the manager’s conduct caused the chairs to collapse onto plaintiff; medical evidence supported that plaintiff was unfit for work from 2 Feb 2019 to 29 May 2020 (16 months); damages assessed at HK$100,000 for pain and suffering, HK$480,480 for pre-judgment loss of earnings, HK$50,000 for loss of earning capacity, and HK$15,130 for special damages, totalling HK$645,610, with interest and costs as ordered.
6 Aug 2025

張小嫺對九龍巴士（一九三三）有限公司

Citation

[2025] HKCFI 3354
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI43/2022

Court accepted the single joint expert opinions that the plaintiff's ocular injury caused a limited permanent impairment (1% whole person) and that her psychiatric condition was pre-existing and not caused or materially worsened by the accident; plaintiff failed to prove pre-accident employment or loss of earnings and many special damages lacked receipts or evidential foundation; accordingly PSLA was assessed at HKD150,000 and special damages at HKD15,000, total HKD165,000, with interest and costs orders as specified.