Tan Juay Mui v Sher Kuan Hock: Personal Injury, Negligence, and Assessment of Damages
In Tan Juay Mui (by his next friend Chew Chwee Kim) v Sher Kuan Hock and another (Liberty Insurance Pte Ltd, co-defendant;; Liberty Insurance Pte Ltd and another, third parties), the High Court of Singapore addressed an appeal and cross-appeal regarding the assessment of damages for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff, Tan Juay Mui, who was hit by a bus driven by the first defendant, Sher Kuan Hock, and employed by the second defendant. The court considered awards for head and leg injuries, the onset of diabetes, pre-trial and future care costs, and loss of income. The court allowed the plaintiff's appeal in part and dismissed the defendants' appeal, adjusting awards for housekeeping services, caregiver loss of income, nursing costs, day care, future medical expenses, and granting provisional damages for potential diabetes complications.
1. Case Overview
1.1 Court
High Court1.2 Outcome
Plaintiff's appeal allowed in part, and the defendants' appeal dismissed.
1.3 Case Type
Civil
1.4 Judgment Type
Grounds of Decision
1.5 Jurisdiction
Singapore
1.6 Description
High Court case involving a personal injury claim where Tan Juay Mui was injured by a bus. The court assessed damages, addressing head injuries, leg amputation, and diabetes.
1.7 Decision Date
2. Parties and Outcomes
| Party Name | Role | Type | Outcome | Outcome Type | Counsels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty Insurance Pte Ltd | Defendant, Respondent | Corporation | Appeal dismissed | Lost | |
| Tan Juay Mui (by his next friend Chew Chwee Kim) | Plaintiff, Appellant | Individual | Appeal allowed in part | Partial | |
| Sher Kuan Hock | Defendant, Respondent | Individual | Appeal dismissed | Lost |
3. Judges
| Judge Name | Title | Delivered Judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Judith Prakash | Judge | Yes |
4. Counsels
4. Facts
- The plaintiff was knocked down by a bus driven by the first defendant on 15 June 2006.
- The plaintiff suffered a severe injury to her left foot and a severe brain injury.
- The plaintiff underwent an amputation of her left leg below the knee on 17 June 2006.
- The plaintiff's recovery was complicated by sepsis, low blood pressure, and paralysis of the left side of her body.
- The plaintiff was found to be in a post-traumatic amnesiac state with significant retrograde amnesia and impaired orientation.
- The plaintiff developed late scar epilepsy with a fall in February 2007.
- Routine testing revealed new onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus in October 2007.
5. Formal Citations
- Tan Juay Mui (by his next friend Chew Chwee Kim) v Sher Kuan Hock and another (Liberty Insurance Pte Ltd, co-defendant;; Liberty Insurance Pte Ltd and another, third parties), Suit No 693 of 2008(Registrar's Appeal Nos 280 and 285 of 2011), [2012] SGHC 100
6. Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Plaintiff knocked down by a bus | |
| Plaintiff underwent amputation of her left leg below the knee | |
| Operation to cut open her throat for a tube to be inserted to help her breathe | |
| Plaintiff was transferred for in-patient brain injury rehabilitation at Tan Tock Seng Hospital Rehabilitation Centre | |
| Plaintiff was transferred to Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital for further rehabilitation | |
| Plaintiff was discharged from Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital | |
| Plaintiff readmitted to hospital for a titanium cranioplasty | |
| Plaintiff had a fall | |
| New onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus | |
| Plaintiff admitted to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in a diabetic coma | |
| Judgment reserved |
7. Legal Issues
- Assessment of Damages for Head Injuries
- Outcome: The court upheld the Assistant Registrar's award of $170,000 for the plaintiff's head injuries, finding it neither clearly inadequate nor excessive.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
- Severity of brain damage
- Loss of amenities
- Impact on cognitive abilities
- Personality changes
- Causation of Diabetes
- Outcome: The court held that the plaintiff's diabetes developed after the injury and as a result of factors associated with it, rejecting the defendant's argument that it was a pre-existing condition.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
- Development of diabetes after the accident
- Impact of medication on blood sugar levels
- Pre-existing diabetic condition
- Remoteness of Damage for Diabetes
- Outcome: The court found that it was reasonably foreseeable that the serious injuries sustained by the plaintiff could cause her to develop other conditions like diabetes, and therefore the damage was not too remote.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
- Reasonable foreseeability of diabetes as a consequence of the accident
- Application of the egg-shell skull rule
- Assessment of Damages for Leg Injury
- Outcome: The court upheld the award of $60,000 for the plaintiff's leg injury, finding it not clearly inadequate.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
- Impact of leg amputation on psychological and physical well-being
- Use of prosthesis
- Contribution of other factors to side effects
- Award for Housekeeping Services
- Outcome: The court awarded the plaintiff $33,724.40 for the cost of employing a maid to do the housekeeping.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
- Loss of housekeeping services due to the accident
- Employment of maids after the accident
- Cost of part-time maid
- Multiplier for Future Care
- Outcome: The court upheld the Assistant Registrar's decision to fix the multiplier for the cost of future care at 17 years.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
- Life expectancy of the plaintiff
- Precedents for multiplier in similar cases
- Provisional Damages
- Outcome: The court allowed the appeal and made an order that the plaintiff may apply for further damages to be assessed if within five years of today, she develops, as a result of her diabetes, any of the following medical conditions: (a) Renal failure; (b) Gangrene; (c) Blindness and/or glaucoma; (d) Coronary heart disease.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
- Complications arising from diabetes
- Development of arthritis
- Risk of functional decline
8. Remedies Sought
- Damages for personal injuries
- Special damages
- Future expenses
- Provisional damages
9. Cause of Actions
- Negligence
- Personal Injury
10. Practice Areas
- Personal Injury Litigation
- Civil Litigation
11. Industries
- Insurance
- Transportation
12. Cited Cases
| Case Name | Court | Affirmed | Citation | Jurisdiction | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Wei Kong (by his litigation representative Lee Swee Chit) v Ng Siok Tong | High Court | Yes | [2010] SGHC 371 | Singapore | Compared the severity of injuries and recovery to determine the appropriate award for pain and suffering and loss of amenities. |
| Ramesh s/o Ayakanno (suing by the committee of the person and the estate, Ramiah Naragatha Vally) v Chua Gim Hock | High Court | Yes | [2008] SGHC 33 | Singapore | Compared the severity of injuries and the victim's ability to move or talk to determine the appropriate award for pain and suffering and loss of amenities. |
| Teo Seng Kiat v Goh Hwa Teck | High Court | Yes | [2003] 1 SLR(R) 333 | Singapore | Cited as a case involving brain injuries without skull fractures to argue for a lower award. |
| Ang Siam Hua v Teo Cheng Hoe | High Court | Yes | [2004] SGHC 147 | Singapore | Cited as a case involving head injury with memory impairment and post-traumatic epilepsy to argue for a lower award. |
| Tan Yu Min Winston (by his next friend Tan Cheng Tong) v Uni-Fruitveg Pte Ltd | High Court | Yes | [2008] 4 SLR(R) 825 | Singapore | Cited to compare the severity of head injuries and associated symptoms in determining the appropriate award. |
| Peh Diana and another v Tan Miang Lee | High Court | Yes | [1991] 1 SLR(R) 22 | Singapore | Cited to emphasize that each case must be looked at with regard to its particular overall circumstances. |
| Chong Hwa Yin (committee of person and estate of Chong Hwa Wee, mentally disordered) v Estate of Loh Hon Fock, deceased | High Court | Yes | [2006] 3 SLR(R) 208 | Singapore | Cited to support the difficulty in placing a monetary value on severe injuries and the importance of considering the duration of pain and suffering. |
| Toon Chee Meng Eddie v Yeap Chin Hon | High Court | Yes | [1993] 2 SLR(R) 536 | Singapore | Cited to compare the severity of brain damage and the level of awareness of the injured person in determining the appropriate award. |
| TV Media Pte Ltd v De Cruz Andrea Heidi and another appeal | High Court | Yes | [2004] 3 SLR(R) 543 | Singapore | Cited to compare the severity of injuries and disabilities in cases not involving brain injuries. |
| Tan Hun Hoe v Harte Denis Mathew | High Court | Yes | [2001] 3 SLR(R) 414 | Singapore | Cited to compare the severity of injuries and disabilities in cases not involving brain injuries. |
| Tan Kok Lam (next friend to Teng Eng) v Hong Choon Peng | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2001] 1 SLR(R) 786 | Singapore | Cited to support the conclusion that the greatest loss of amenities that a living person can suffer was to be put into a vegetative state. |
| Daly v General Steam Navigation | English Court of Appeal | Yes | [1981] 1 WLR 120 | England | Cited to support the award of loss of housekeeping services after the plaintiff became incapable of undertaking household duties following the accident. |
| Overseas Tankship (UK) Ltd v Morts Dock & Engineering Co Ltd (The Wagon Mound) | House of Lords | Yes | [1961] AC 388 | United Kingdom | Cited to establish the test for remoteness of damage as the test of reasonable foreseeability. |
| Ho Soo Fong and another v Standard Chartered Bank | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2007] 2 SLR(R) 181 | Singapore | Cited to reaffirm the application of the test of reasonable foreseeability in Singapore for remoteness of damage. |
| Sunny Metal & Engineering Pte Ltd v Ng Khim Ming Eric | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2007] 3 SLR(R) 782 | Singapore | Cited to reaffirm the application of the test of reasonable foreseeability in Singapore for remoteness of damage. |
| Commonwealth of Australia v W L McLean | New South Wales Supreme Court | Yes | [1996] NSWSC 657 | Australia | Cited to argue that the egg-shell skull rule only applies to damage of the same kind as that which is foreseeable. |
| Attorney General v Ho Tee Ming | High Court | Yes | [1968–1970] SLR(R) 382 | Singapore | Cited to determine an appropriate award for the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. |
| Pang Teck Kong v Chew Eng Hwa | High Court | Yes | [1992] SGHC 31 | Singapore | Cited to determine an appropriate award for the amputation of his right leg, below the knee. |
| Mei Yue Lan Margaret v Raffles City (Pte) Ltd | High Court | Yes | [2005] 4 SLR(R) 740 | Singapore | Cited to determine an appropriate award for severe injury to her right leg. |
| Ang Leng Hock v Leo Ee An | High Court | Yes | [2003] SGHC 240 | Singapore | Cited to determine the multiplier for future medical expenses. |
| Ong Tean Hoe v Hong Kong Industrial Company Pte Ltd | High Court | Yes | [2001] SGHC 3030 | Singapore | Cited to determine the multiplier for future medical expenses. |
| ACD (by her next friend B) v See Mun Li | High Court | Yes | [2009] SGHC 217 | Singapore | Cited to determine the considerations for making an order for provisional damages. |
| Koh Chai Kwang v Teo Ai Ling (by her next friend, Chua Wee Bee) | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2011] 3 SLR 610 | Singapore | Cited to determine the considerations for making an award for provisional damages in relation to loss of future earnings. |
13. Applicable Rules
| Rule Name |
|---|
| No applicable rules |
14. Applicable Statutes
| Statute Name | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| Supreme Court Judicature Act (Cap 322 2007 Rev Ed) | Singapore |
15. Key Terms and Keywords
15.1 Key Terms
- Personal injury
- Negligence
- Assessment of damages
- Head injury
- Leg amputation
- Diabetes
- Loss of amenities
- Special damages
- Future expenses
- Multiplier
- Provisional damages
- Remoteness of damage
- Causation
15.2 Keywords
- Personal injury
- Negligence
- Damages
- Singapore
- High Court
- Brain injury
- Amputation
- Diabetes
- Provisional damages
17. Areas of Law
| Area Name | Relevance Score |
|---|---|
| Personal Injury | 95 |
| Damages | 90 |
| Assessment of Damages | 85 |
| Pain and Suffering | 70 |
| Loss of Amenities | 70 |
| Remoteness | 65 |
| Causation | 65 |
| Medical Negligence | 60 |
| Provisional Damages | 55 |
| Automobile Accidents | 50 |
| Civil Procedure | 40 |
| Evidence | 30 |
16. Subjects
- Personal Injury
- Civil Procedure
- Damages
- Medical Negligence