Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Workplace accident

Legal area

Court

13 Aug 2025

CHAN MAN SAU 對風采中學（教育評議會主辦）法團校董會

Citation

[2025] HKDC 1354
Court

District Court
Case number

DCEC838/2022

For each claim the court assessed whether the impugned words or events were sudden, unusual and objectively capable of causing bodily injury. The judge accepted the head injury of 29 Jan 2019 was caused by contact with a protruding sign (applicant succeeded in DCEC 2171/2020) but rejected the other five claims because evidence was insufficient or the conduct complained of fell within ordinary school management or reassurance/context rather than an unexpected harmful act, and therefore did not amount to an "accident" under s.5(1). Delay, failure to report contemporaneously and inconsistencies…
8 Apr 2025

WONG HUNG TAN THOMAS v. REGENT ENGINEERING COMPANY LTD (formerly known as UNIVIC BUILDING CONTRACTORS LTD) AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2025] HKDC 581
Court

District Court
Case number

DCPI1673/2023

Court accepts plaintiff's account and contemporaneous records, finds the lifting task was unreasonably heavy and unsafe, defendants (1st as employer and 2nd as principal contractor) breached their non-delegable duties and are jointly and severally liable; defendants failed to prove contributory negligence; damages are assessed on the medical and factual evidence and awarded accordingly.
3 Dec 2024

LEE MAN KIT v. TUNG CHEONG LOGISTICS (HONG KONG) LTD

Citation

[2024] HKDC 2077
Court

District Court
Case number

DCEC513/2022

With no documentary proof of actual earnings the court applied the second limb of section 11(2) and adopted the government average monthly salary for a male driver of HK$18,316.80 as the notional monthly earning; applied the statutory formulas: s9 (HK$18,316.80 x 72 x 1% = HK$13,188.10), s10 using 100 days temporary incapacity and the statutory rate (HK$18,316.80 x (100/30) x 4/5 = HK$48,844.80), and s10A medicals HK$1,988.00, yielding total compensation HK$64,020.90; interest and costs ordered accordingly.
25 Apr 2024

XIAO LONG 對 LAM TAK YUEN

Citation

[2024] HKCA 330
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV325/2022

The Court dismissed the appeal because the appellant failed to show any material or obvious error in the trial judge's factual findings; the trial judge's acceptance that the applicant was the respondent's employee and that the injury occurred in the course of employment was supported by the evidence and not plainly wrong, so the compensation assessment below is upheld.
27 Mar 2024

NASEEM-ABBAS AND ANOTHER v. RISING AERIAL PLATFORM COMPANY LTD AND OTHERS

Citation

[2024] HKCFI 918
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI406/2019

The court accepted the plaintiffs' evidence and the joint orthopaedic expert's opinions that both plaintiffs suffered the injuries claimed and reached maximal medical improvement with ongoing impairments affecting their ability to perform heavy construction work; accordingly the court allowed the claims for pre-trial and future loss of earnings in full and awarded loss of earning capacity to P1, entered judgment for the stated sums against D1, D2 and D3, and ordered interest and costs nisi against the defendants.
7 Mar 2024

CHAN PUN CHING 對 HO CHUN CHEUNG

Citation

[2024] HKDC 357
Court

District Court
Case number

DCEC2219/2022

Respondent was not the applicant's employer because he did not operate a business, did not bear financial risk or derive profit from hiring the applicant, the parties were casual collaborators (a gang) engaged to work for a third party (Shahin), and the indicia point against an employer-employee relationship; therefore respondent has no liability under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance.
28 Dec 2023

CHAN YUK PING v. NGAN CHO LIN AND OTHERS

Citation

[2023] HKDC 1835
Court

District Court
Case number

DCEC322/2020

On the balance of probabilities the court accepted the applicant's and independent clerk's testimony and contemporaneous time card, rejected respondents' oral denials as not credible or supported by documents, found joint employment by R1 and R2 from August 2018, found the accident at Tit Hang Village Workshop on 26 December 2018 caused by a forklift wheel rolling over the applicant's right foot, accepted monthly earnings HK$15,600 and certified sick leave of 17 months; awarded statutory compensation under ss.9,10 and 10A ECO subject to deductions for payments already received, and awarded co…
11 Oct 2021

MUHAMMAD ABID UMARZAI 對 MARK OCEAN (CHINA) LTD 及另二人

Citation

[2021] HKDC 1237
Court

District Court
Case number

DCEC1908/2018

The court found the applicant failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that the accident occurred at the time and place and in the circumstances alleged; accordingly the employee compensation claim was dismissed. Although the court also found the applicant was an employee of the first respondent at the relevant time, that finding did not entitle the applicant to compensation because causation (the accident as pleaded) was not established.
9 Aug 2021

CHEUNG SUN FAT JACKY v. LAM SHING YAN t/a WAI LEUNG DECORATION ENGINEERING CO

Citation

[2021] HKDC 939
Court

District Court
Case number

DCEC870/2017

On the balance of probabilities the Applicant was instructed to work at the Ship Street premises on 10 June 2015, the accident occurred while he was installing corner clamps and arose out of and in the course of his employment; accordingly the Respondent is liable under sections 9, 10 and 10A of the ECO for the agreed sums and interest.
6 Aug 2021

陳華伙對陳劍偉經營小海灣飲食

Citation

[2021] HKDC 953
Court

District Court
Case number

DCEC1324/2019

The court accepted the applicant's credible evidence and expert medical opinion that the workplace accident on 17 May 2018 occurred and caused the left elbow injury; any oral agreement to accept HK$30,000 did not extinguish statutory compensation rights because s31 renders such waivers invalid absent statutory authorization; the court accepted the expert's 2.5% permanent loss figure and applied the Employees' Compensation Ordinance provisions using HK$23,000 monthly salary to calculate total statutory compensation of HK$369,578, awarding interest and costs to the applicant.