The House looked at how personal injury damages shoud be set in cases of severe injury.
Lord Pearce said: ‘[i]f a plaintiff has lost a leg, the court approaches the matter on the basis that he has suffered a serious physical deprivation no matter what his condition or temperament or state of mind may be’.
And: ‘The court has to perform the difficult and artificial task of converting into monetary damages the physical injury and deprivation and pain and to give judgment for what it considers to be a reasonable sum. It does not look beyond the judgment to the spending of the damages.’
Lord Morris of Borth-y-Gest observed: ‘ . . money cannot renew a physical frame that has been battered and shattered. All the judges and courts can do is to award sums which must be regarded as giving reasonable compensation . . as far as possible comparable injuries should be compensated by comparable awards . . ‘
Lord Reid, Lord Tucker, Lord Morris of Borth-y-Gest, Lord Devlin, Lord Pearce
[1963] UKHL 3, [1963] 2 All ER 625, [1963] 2 WLR 1359, [1964] AC 326
Bailii
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Wise v Kaye CA 1-Dec-1961
. .
Cited – Benham v Gambling HL 1941
The injured person was a child of two and a half. He was unconscious from the moment of the accident until his death, which occurred later on the same day. He had acquired at the time of injury a cause of action for loss of expectation of life.
Cited by:
Cited – Heil v Rankin, Rees v Mabco (102) Ltd, Schofield v Saunders and Taylor Ltd and Other cases CA 23-Mar-2000
The Law Commission had recommended that the general level of damages awarded for pain suffering and loss of amenity in personal injury cases should be raised. The Court now considered several cases on the issue.
Held: The court would do so. . .
Cited – Pickett v British Rail Engineering HL 2-Nov-1978
Lost Earnings claim Continues after Death
The claimant, suffering from mesothelioma, had claimed against his employers and won, but his claim for loss of earnings consequent upon his anticipated premature death was not allowed. He began an appeal, but then died. His personal representatives . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Personal Injury, Damages
Updated: 30 November 2021; Ref: scu.248551