(II) Compensation to the victims

Generally speaking, successful plaintiffs (victims) can recover the following types of compensation from defendants.

Non-financial losses

For non-fatal cases, the plaintiff may obtain compensation for pain, loss of amenities (pleasure/enjoyment) and suffering. For fatal cases, claims for bereavement (mental depression/suffering due to the death of a relative) may also be made by a person related to the deceased.

Financial losses

Financial losses usually consist of past and future financial losses, such as pre-trial loss of earnings (between the date of the accident and the date of the trial), future loss of earnings (between the date of the trial and the expected date of recovery or retirement) and medical and travelling expenses. Medical reports and documents that show the victim's income must be submitted to the Court to justify the calculation of losses.

For fatal cases, claims may also be made by the deceased's dependents (the children or the parents or the spouse of the deceased) for loss of dependency, loss of future accumulation of wealth from the deceased, funeral expenses and all other expenses that have been incurred between the date of the accident and the date of death. Legal costs, as in all civil cases, may also be sought by the successful plaintiff from the defendant.

In assessing the plaintiff's future loss of earnings, a "multiplier" may be applied by the judge. The multiplier is based on the plaintiff's age at trial, health, profession and retirement age. For example, if the plaintiff's loss of earnings is $200,000 per year, and the multiplier adopted by the judge is 5 (the plaintiff could have earned more or worked for a longer period if the injury had not occurred), then the final calculation for the future loss of earnings would be $200,000 x 5 = $1,000,000.

As the calculation of losses and compensation is largely dependent on case law and the actual circumstances of the claim, there is no single and conclusive formula. Examples of calculations can be found on the Judiciary's website in the Personal Injuries judgments of the High Court or the District Court .

You can also obtain some examples of the compensation items from the Medical Negligence topic (as medical negligence also comes within the category of personal injury claims).

1. If my injury was partly caused by my own negligence and partly another person's fault, would the compensation be reduced? How would the level or percentage of such a reduction be decided?



2. Would my compensation from personal injury proceedings be reduced if I had insurance coverage and had already received the relevant payment from the insurance company?



3. I was convicted of the criminal liability for "wounding with intent" and the victim sued me for medical and other compensation through personal injury proceedings. Would it be possible to reduce the amount of compensation?