MN obo O v Road Accident Fund (7489/2015) [2020] ZAGPJHC 299 (18 September 2020)

MN obo O v Road Accident Fund (7489/2015) [2020] ZAGPJHC 299 (18 September 2020)

The court accepted the uncontested expert evidence of the plaintiff's industrial psychologist and the joint minute of educational psychologists, finding that the minor child would have attained NQF Level 5 pre-morbid and NQF Level 3 post-morbid. The actuarial calculations provided by the plaintiff were accepted, subject to the court's discretion to apply contingencies. Considering the prevailing economic conditions and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the court applied a 25% contingency to pre-morbid earnings and a 30% contingency to post-morbid earnings. The resulting total future loss of earnings was calculated as R4,443,912. The court ordered the defendant to pay this amount, with...

Citation
[2020] ZAGPJHC 299
Parties
Plaintiff: M[…]: N[…] O.B.O O[…]; Defendant: Road Accident Fund
Court
South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
18 September 2020
Case Number
7489/2015
Procedural Posture
Personal Injury Action / Quantum Determination After Merits Settled
Outcome
Judgment for the plaintiff. Defendant ordered to pay damages for future loss of earnings, interest, and costs.
Judges
G Ally
Legal Topics
Road Accident Fund, Loss of Earnings, Contingency Deductions, Personal Injury, Expert Evidence
Delict Road Accident Fund Loss of Earnings Contingency Deductions Personal Injury Expert Evidence

Case Brief

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Parties

M[…]: N[…] O.B.O O[…]

Plaintiff

Road Accident Fund

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Personal Injury Action / Quantum Determination After Merits Settled

Legal Issues

  1. 1 What is the appropriate quantum for future loss of earnings suffered by the minor child as a result of injuries sustained in the motor vehicle accident.
  2. 2 What contingencies should be applied to the pre-morbid and post-morbid earnings calculations.
  3. 3 Should the expert evidence of the plaintiff's industrial psychologist be preferred over that of the defendant's expert.

Ratio Decidendi

The court accepted the uncontested expert evidence of the plaintiff's industrial psychologist and the joint minute of educational psychologists, finding that the minor child would have attained NQF Level 5 pre-morbid and NQF Level 3 post-morbid. The actuarial calculations provided by the plaintiff were accepted, subject to the court's discretion to apply contingencies. Considering the prevailing economic conditions and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the court applied a 25% contingency to pre-morbid earnings and a 30% contingency to post-morbid earnings. The resulting total future loss of earnings was calculated as R4,443,912. The court ordered the defendant to pay this amount, with...

Court Disposition

Judgment for the plaintiff. Defendant ordered to pay damages for future loss of earnings, interest, and costs.

Orders

  • Defendant to pay the plaintiff the amount of R4,443,912.
  • Interest thereon at the prescribed rate from date of judgment to date of payment.