Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

General damages for pain and suffering

Legal area

Court

29 Oct 2010

GURUNG LACHHAMAN v. GURUNG CHANDRA PRAKASH t/a METRO CONSTRUCTION CO AND OTHERS

Citation

GURUNG LACHHAMAN v. GURUNG CHANDRA PRAKASH t/a METRO CONSTRUCTION CO AND OTHERS
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI672/2008

Plaintiff sustained mild soft tissue contusion to the low back and a superficial right knee abrasion which would recover with conservative treatment; MRI degenerative changes were pre-existing and not aggravated by the incident; plaintiff exaggerated symptoms and therefore loss beyond 28 November 2006 is not proved; awarded damages accordingly: PLSA HK$120,000; pre-trial loss including employer MPF HK$156,009; special damages HK$8,425; total HK$284,434 less Employees Compensation payment HK$204,386 leaving balance HK$80,048; interest at 2% p.a. from date of Writ to judgment and costs on Distr…
23 May 2001

YU KOK WING v. LEE TIM LOI

Citation

YU KOK WING v. LEE TIM LOI
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV139/2000

The Court allowed the appeal in part: the master's general damages award of $275,000 was too low and was increased to $350,000; the master erred in law by refusing any award for future earning capacity for a casual painter because she misapplied the two‑stage test by treating the plaintiff's intention to remain a painter as negating the real risk that his reduced capacity would reduce his ability to obtain casual work; the court quantified future loss as $750 x 15 days x 10 years = $112,500 and ordered interest.
19 Jul 1996

CHAN PUI KI v. LEUNG ON AND ANOTHER

Citation

CHAN PUI KI v. LEUNG ON AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV263/1995

Affirmed upward revision of non-pecuniary guidelines for pain and suffering but held the trial judge erred in abandoning the accepted multiplier approach and in admitting/using elaborate actuarial/investment evidence to derive unconventional multipliers; substituted specific revised awards and held limited use of economic expert evidence is appropriate, and that provision for investment/management advice may be awarded where necessary.
9 Aug 1983

CHEUK WAI CHI AND ANOTHER v. KWONG CHEUK KAI AND OTHERS

Citation

CHEUK WAI CHI AND ANOTHER v. KWONG CHEUK KAI AND OTHERS
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA92/1982

Judge found the 2nd defendant drove in the outer lane and steered right instead of left immediately before collision, failing to exercise reasonable care; 3rd defendant crossed double white lines and offered no explanation; liability apportioned equally between 2nd and 3rd defendants; plaintiffs awarded special and general damages as quantified and LARCO and FAO awards calculated by accepted methodology (net income less personal expenses, applied multipliers).

Hong Kong Case Law

GURUNG LACHHAMAN v. GURUNG CHANDRA PRAKASH t/a METRO CONSTRUCTION CO AND OTHERS

YU KOK WING v. LEE TIM LOI

CHAN PUI KI v. LEUNG ON AND ANOTHER

CHEUK WAI CHI AND ANOTHER v. KWONG CHEUK KAI AND OTHERS