Read the full judgment text of HCA 001105/1989 on BabelCite. This High Court CFI judgment was delivered on 13 June 1991 before Master Woolley.
Personal injury – assessment of damages – welder fell 20 feet on building site – burst compression fracture of 1st lumbar vertebra and depressed fracture of os calcis – whether plaintiff failed to mitigate by ceasing to wear lumbo-sacral jacket – whether and when plaintiff should have obtained light employment after sick leave – calculation of pre-accident and post-recovery earnings – whether statistics of Census and Statistics Department properly comparable to welder's earnings – award for loss of earning capacity – general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenities – deduction of employee's compensation – Medical and travelling expenses of $8,364 agreed; loss of earnings during 13-month sick leave of $74,592 agreed. Held: plaintiff did not fail to mitigate by not wearing jacket; medical evidence inconclusive as to whether continued use would have hastened healing. Held: plaintiff should have obtained light work for 8 of the 16 months between end of sick leave and September 1988. Loss of earnings 5 May 1987 to 4 September 1988 assessed at $108,485.44 using median of $7,780.34 and notional earnings of $2,000 per month for 8 months. Blacksmith statistics rejected as inappropriate comparison. Loss of earnings 4 September 1988 to 31 January 1989 assessed at $6,954.76. No continuing loss of earnings from January 1989. Award of $10,000 for loss of earning capacity. General damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenities awarded at $150,000. Total damages $358,396.20 reduced by employee's compensation of $115,332.77 plus interest of $13,444.96 to $229,618.47, with interest on general damages at 2% from writ to trial and on special damages at 5% from accident to trial. Costs reserved.
Legal issues: Whether plaintiff failed to mitigate by not wearing lumbo-sacral jacket · Period for which plaintiff should have obtained light employment after sick leave · Assessment of loss of earnings from May 1987 to September 1988 · Loss of earnings from September 1988 to January 1989 · Award for loss of earning capacity · General damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenities
Outcome: Damages assessed in favour of the plaintiff against both defendants. Total damages of $229,618.47 awarded after deduction of employee's compensation of $115,332.77 plus interest of $13,444.96.