$472k award upheld

THE Fiji Court of Appeal has ruled that the High Court was correct to order a payment of $472,415 be awarded to a man who was severely injured in an accident at Navua in 2008.

Gabriel Singh was a passenger in a car owned by Pritishna Lata Bhan and driven by Nitin Mishra at the time of the accident.

“Mr Singh suffered greatly, he was unconscious or semi-conscious for more than a month, intubated, had to receive intimate cares and tube feeding for a prolonged period, underwent extensive surgery and had his ability to communicate forever challenged,” stated Justices Isikeli Mataitoga, Pamela Andrews and Gerald Winter in a February 29 judgement.

“There was no evidence that the 1st respondent (Mr Singh) returned to his normal life following this accident. Far from it. As a result of the severe injuries including his vocal chord and brain damage, his relationship with his family, former friends and social circle from his active sporting life playing soccer was severely compromised.

“How can money put a victim back in the same position as s/he would have been in had the injury not been suffered? Obviously, it cannot.

“Given that the courts do not have the power to turn back time to before the accident in question, they must do the best they can to place a value on injuries in monetary terms.

“In making awards, fairness to an individual plaintiff and fairness in the eyes of the community has to be balanced with the need to be fair to plaintiffs generally. An important part of achieving this end is the need to make similar awards for comparable injuries.”

Pritishna Lata Bhan and Nitin Mishra have been ordered to jointly pay Mr Singh the aggregate sum of $472,415, plus 6 per cent per annum interest and $5000 in costs.