The deceased received fatal injuries riding a miniature railway. The plaintiff, her surving husband, sought damages under the Fatal Accidents Acts. Her estate included a grocery shop with a flat, in which she and the plaintiff resided. She left the property to a son and married daughter by a previous marriage, who after administration sold the business and voluntarily paid to the plaintiff a sum approximately one-third of the value of the estate.
Held: The generosity of the beneficiaries under the will to make a voluntary gift to the plaintiff was a ‘nova causa interveniens which makes the payment not in consequence or as a result of the death within the meaning of the statements which have been made with regard to this problem.’ The payment did not therefore fall to be deducted from the damages.
Judges:
Somervell LJ
Citations:
[1954] 3 WLR 288, [1954] 2 QB 347, [1954] 2 All ER 689
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
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 . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Damages
Updated: 05 August 2022; Ref: scu.237531