A Singaporean was recently awarded S$4.75 million by the Singapore High Court after his mental state was permanently affected from a road accident in Malaysia six years ago.
This was said to be the highest sum awarded to the victim of an accident, according to the plaintiff’s lawyer Raj Singh Shergill.
The plaintiff, Lim Chun Yong was 38-years-old at the time of the accident and now he requires around the clock care due to severe brain damage, the Straits Times reported.
Lim, a front-seat passenger in a Toyota Innova, was involved in a three-vehicle collision on February 12, 2018, 270 metres from the Kempas Toll Plaza in Johor where it was between a semi-trailer and a BMW X3, which were reportedly not Singapore-registered.
Lim, unconscious and seriously injured, was extricated from the wreckage and rushed to Hospital Sultanah Aminah in Johor Bahru and was admitted to intensive care at Singapore General Hospital on February 13, 2018.
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In place of the plaintiff, his wife, Janet Fung, filed a lawsuit against five defendants for negligence, personal injuries and losses sustained due to the accident, adding the insurer for the Toyota later.
Fung cared for Lim at home with the assistance of a domestic helper but admitted him to a nursing home as his behavioural disorders reportedly became difficult to manage.
The Singapore High Court found the five defendants “jointly and individually liable”, as quoted, for Lim’s injuries
High Court Judicial Commissioner Alex Wong placed “50% of the blame” on the semi-trailer driver and his employer while he found the driver of the Toyota and the car owner to be 30% liable and finally put 20% of the blame on the BMW driver.
Wong also rejected the defence’s claim that Fung was legally obligated to care for Lim in his own home, citing a case from 2022 which stated that family members should not be perceived as “free of charge caregiver” where the defendants can “take advantage of”, as quoted, to lower the sum payable as fair compensation to Lim.
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Lim was then awarded more than S$4.7 million in claims, also including S$1.87 million for the cost of his full-time care at a nursing home.
“The risks of Mr Lim doing harm to himself or others outside the controlled confines of permanent nursing home care are too significant to ignore,” Wong was quoted as saying.
Considering Lim’s situation, Lim was awarded nearly S$1.6 million to compensate for loss of future income on the basis of the plaintiff being able to work until the retirement age of 70-years-old but unlikely to go back to work due to the brain damage sustained from the crash.
“This case is one where a loss of future earnings award ought to be given, and not an award for loss of earning capacity,” he was also quoted as saying.
However, the defendants are appealing the lawsuit.
