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Cliff Buddle

INJURY victims are to receive greatly increased payments from the courts following a landmark ruling by a High Court judge yesterday.

   Mr Justice Cheung said there was no reason why anyone hurt in Hong Kong should be receiving substantially less than those awarded damages in Britain.

  He ruled that the payments made to injury victims should be increased by 50 per cent.

  'The social and economic conditions in Hong Kong have been shown by evidence to be comparable to that of the UK.

  'There is no reason why the disparity of awards of damages in the two jurisdictions should be so substantial,' said Mr Justice Cheung.

  He made his comments when awarding almost $6.5 million to the mother of Chan Pui-ki, who was knocked down by a bus in 1989.

  Pui-ki was 10 at the time of the accident, which left her with horrific head injuries and brain damage.

  Now 18, she is unlikely ever to be able to work. Her mother, Chu Kam-hing, 48, has been forced to give up her job as a clerk. Her father, Chan Tin-sang, 47, quit work for eight months to look after his daughter.

  The action was brought against Kowloon Motor Bus and driver Leung On and the court case lasted six weeks.

  The judge spent 21/2 months preparing his ruling, which insurance experts said would result in steep rises in premiums, particularly in coverage for vehicles.

  John Griffiths QC, for Pui-ki's family, said under guidelines set in 1980 damages should be lower than in Britain, because of the lower standard of living in the territory.

  During the court hearing he presented the judge with a mass of statistics to show that since then Hong Kong has raced ahead of Britain.

  Mr Justice Cheung said: 'One is concerned with the same pain, suffering and loss of amenities of an injured person whether the case is tried in Hong Kong, London or Newcastle.

  'In the past the only reason for not bringing Hong Kong's damages to the same level as in the UK had been the disparity in social and economic conditions.

  'It cannot be right that having found these conditions are now comparable, the court should defer from revising the Hong Kong awards,' said the judge.

  He suggested that the increases in the range for serious injury awards should be between $400,000 and $540,000.

  Substantial injury awards should be between $540,000 and $600,000.

  Gross disability awards should be between $660,000 and $1 million. Disaster should be $1 million upwards.

  Previously the ranges had been: serious injury $270,000 to $360,000; substantial injury $360,000 to $445,000; gross disability $445,000 to $675,000; disaster $675,000 upwards.

  The 'multiplier' used to calculate a victim's loss of future earnings and their future needs would normally have been 18 in a case such as this. But the judge took one of 30.

  He also took a multiplier of 35 when considering the cost of long-term psychiatric treatment needed by Pui-ki.

  During the hearing Mr Griffiths said that in the last 15 years life expectancy had become longer, salaries higher, and people better educated.

  In 1980, the average income for the territory's lowest earners was half that in Britain.

  But, last year, Hong Kong workers at the bottom of the ladder earned 1.4 times as much as British counterparts.

  Life expectancy and the relative number of doctors were also higher than in Britain.

  'Fifteen years on, people in Hong Kong live longer than in the UK, educational opportunities are better than in the UK and incomes are higher than in the UK,' said Mr Griffiths.

  He added: 'It is appropriate the same levels of compensation should now apply.'   Statistics put forward to illustrate the change included United Nations figures on the purchasing power of citizens in different countries.

  If America is represented by a figure of 100 then Hong Kong would be 90.6, Japan 85.8 and Britain 66.6, the court heard. In 1980 the purchasing power of Hong Kong people was only 89 per cent of Britons.



Injury payouts to soar as girl awarded $6.5m