The plaintiff had sustained serious injuries and sought damages. One item of special damages was a sum for loss of pension between the age of 60, when he would have retired, and the age of 65, which was the limit of his life expectancy as a result of the accident. It was not disputed that no deduction could be made in respect of his incapacity pension receipts before his normal retirement age of 60 because of the decision in Parry v. Cleaver. But it was said that after that date the amounts which he would have received in the aggregate up to the age of 60 could then be brought into account against his claim for the loss of the pension payable to him after that age. There was no dispute that the amounts which he would have received up to the age of 60, when taken together with a lump sum which he had received in commutation of part of his pension when he was awarded the incapacity pension, were sufficient to wipe out entirely his claim for pension loss.
Held: The court rejected the defendants’ argument, which did not pay true attention to what a pension is, namely that it is the deferred payment for current work. But the main reason was that, had the amounts alleged to be deductible been in fact deductible, then the similar process would have been applied in Parry v. Cleaver. It was almost beyond comprehension that, if in Parry v. Cleaver there had been a sum of money to be regarded as having remained on ice until the age when the plaintiff would have retired from the police, it would not have been deducted from his claim for loss of pension after that date.
Judges:
Brabin J
Citations:
[1974] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 544
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Parry v Cleaver HL 5-Feb-1969
PI Damages not Reduced for Own Pension
The plaintiff policeman was disabled by the negligence of the defendant and received a disablement pension. Part had been contributed by himself and part by his employer.
Held: The plaintiff’s appeal succeeded. Damages for personal injury were . .
Cited by:
Cited – Longden v British Coal Corporation HL 13-Mar-1997
The plaintiff was injured whilst at work in one of the defendant’s collieries. The House considered the deductibility from damages awarded for personal injury of a collateral benefit.
Held: The issue of deductibility where the claim is for . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Damages
Updated: 12 December 2022; Ref: scu.237505