Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Loss of future earning capacity

Legal area

Court

8 Aug 2022

B K RAM PRASHAD v. FREYSSINET HONG KONG LTD AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2022] HKDC 775
Court

District Court
Case number

DCPI1657/2019

Master found plaintiff exaggerated subjective complaints, accepted jointly that impairment was low, accepted Dr Lam's objective assessment that plaintiff could resume pre-accident foreman work, accepted sick leave up to 25 January 2018 for pre-trial loss, awarded PSLA $250,000, pre-trial loss $608,556.48, loss of earning capacity $100,000, special damages $22,000, applied 25% reduction and set-off for employees' compensation, resulting in net damages of HK$88,858.85; interest and costs nisi ordered.
1 Feb 2019

LAM MEI WAN v. NGAI KEUNG JAMES AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2019] HKDC 125
Court

District Court
Case number

DCPI1054/2016

Liability was admitted; contemporaneous medical records and the joint expert report established a coccygeal fracture that healed by early 2014 and that residual symptoms were at most mild; positive Waddell signs and inconsistencies in the plaintiff’s account justified discounting claimed severity and duration; accordingly awards were limited to PSLA HK$150,000, pre-trial loss for 52 days (HK$19,365.23), special damages HK$12,000; no award for future loss of earning capacity; interest and costs ordered as specified.
7 Jul 2014

CHAN CHUN FAT v. FORTRESS GLORY ENGINEERING LTD

Citation

CHAN CHUN FAT v. FORTRESS GLORY ENGINEERING LTD
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI832/2013

On the unchallenged medical evidence and factual findings, award PSLA HK$100,000; calculate pre-trial loss (including sick leave and post-sick attempts at work) at HK$519,314.25; apply multiplier of 9 and discounting approach to award future loss HK$895,860; award loss of earning capacity HK$50,000; allow special damages HK$10,425; deduct employees' compensation payment HK$50,000; order interest and costs accordingly. Adjustments to pleaded figures rejected where unsupported or requiring formal amendment.
13 Oct 2010

KHAN AMIR v. KWOK YUI CHOR AND ANOTHER

Citation

KHAN AMIR v. KWOK YUI CHOR AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI422/2009

On uncontested evidence including hospital records, a certificate of assessment under the employees' compensation scheme and the plaintiff's expert report the court awarded damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity and quantified past and future loss of earnings, loss of earning capacity and special damages; the gross award of $718,038 was reduced by the prior employees' compensation payment of $172,297 to a net award of $545,741, with interest at 2% per annum on PSLA, pre‑trial and future loss heads and loss of earning capacity from the date of writ and special damages interest at half…
31 Oct 2008

LI YUET YEE AND OTHERS v. NG CHI HANG

Citation

LI YUET YEE AND OTHERS v. NG CHI HANG
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI451/2006

The Court accepted the medical experts' findings of neurocognitive impairment and a cosmetic impairment from the scar, applied the established multiplier/discount methodology (following Leung Pui Yuk) using a $8,000 base difference, multiplier 13 and 70% contingency discount to quantify loss of future earning capacity, awarded specific sums for PSLA, parental services, special and future medical damages, and declined the claim for loss of medical insurance benefits for lack of evidence.
7 Mar 2003

LEE CHUN FAT v. CHAN KIN WO AND ANOTHER

Citation

LEE CHUN FAT v. CHAN KIN WO AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV334/2002

The appeal is dismissed because the trial judge properly assessed witness credibility and probabilities and was entitled to find the plaintiff's account more probable; the facts supported a finding that both defendants acted together making them jointly liable; the alleged illegality of the plaintiff's night‑watch employment was neither pleaded nor proved and could not defeat the agreed damages; and the medical evidence justified the award for loss of earning capacity.
24 Apr 2002

AU WANG CHEONG v. YAN WING-WAI

Citation

AU WANG CHEONG v. YAN WING-WAI
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV385/2001

The Court upheld the Deputy Judge's findings that while the plaintiff likely suffered monocular diplopia, the condition was not of such severity nor was there sufficient evidence linking his academic deterioration to the accident; therefore no award for loss of future earning capacity was justified, and the agreed 37 days' loss of the mother's earnings was sufficient with no proven necessity for her to give up employment thereafter; appeal dismissed.
18 Aug 1998

CHAN TAK CHI v. WONG SIU TAO

Citation

CHAN TAK CHI v. WONG SIU TAO
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI1223/1996

Master accepted that injuries were significant with ongoing neck pain, early degeneration and frozen shoulder but were near lower end of 'serious' category and awarded PSLA $360,000; defendant failed to prove complete failure to mitigate re physiotherapy and availability of alternative jobs, but plaintiff did not take sufficient steps to obtain employment in another field so pre-trial loss was limited to 36 months; appropriate multiplicands and multipliers were fixed from evidence and statistics; investment advice was not awarded; interest and itemised special damages awarded as calculated; t…
26 Nov 1991

LI MAN YUEN v. LI CHUNG

Citation

LI MAN YUEN v. LI CHUNG
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV91/1991

Defendant was liable both in negligence and for breach of statutory duty by failing to provide effective guarding and by negligent maintenance; plaintiff was contributorily negligent but only to a limited degree given the defendant's serious breaches, and contributory negligence is reduced from 35% to 20%; the trial judge's award for loss of opportunity at Beijing Sheraton was upheld; no separate award for future labour market risk was warranted on the evidence.
31 Oct 1985

CHOW YUET SHEUNG v. LAW YIU KWONG

Citation

CHOW YUET SHEUNG v. LAW YIU KWONG
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA7773/1984

The court accepted the plaintiff's documented special expenses as necessarily incurred and, applying relevant authorities on severity of loss of an eye and loss of earning capacity, awarded $38,670 special damages, $120,000 general damages for pain and suffering and $45,000 for future loss of earning capacity, then set off $77,894.67 employees' compensation to arrive at a net judgment of $125,775.33 with specified interest rates and costs to be taxed.