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[1] In this action the plaintiff, Anna Jane sues for damages for serious injuries she received in a motor car accident on the sixth of June, nineteen eighty seven. [2] Liability is admitted and the case proceeds on quantum only. [3] The case was heard in the week of November the eighth to the twelfth at Chelmsford. [4] Speeches finished in the late afternoon of my last day there and judgement was reserved to London. [5] ... The results of the accident were truly appalling. [6] ... The plaintiff was just eighteen at the time ... she was in her A level year at school. [7] ... In the car with her were her boyfriend Peter, his sister Jane and another school friend Lucy. [8] ... All three of the plaintiff's friends were killed in the accident and the plaintiff sustained very grave injuries ... which kept her in hospitals and a rehabilitation centre ... for almost three years. [9] It was not until the twenty third of May of nineteen ninety that she was finally discharged home to the care of her parents. [10] ... In the accident she sustained a very severe closed head injury, a mid shaft fracture of the right humorous ... fractures of the lower left radius and ulna and a fracture of the right femur. [11] ... She also suffered injuries to the left side of her chest and a laceration over the eye which went down to the bone. [12] She was a, she was admitted to Hinchinbrook hospital, Huntingdon but was deeply unconscious and not responding to stimulus. [13] Within a few hours she was transferred to the neurosurgical unit at Addenbrookes hospital, Cambridge. [14] There she remained critically ill for several months, initially needing treatment with a ventilator to assist her breathing. [15] On the fifteenth of June nineteen eighty seven she underwent a tracheostomy. [16] ... One of the effects of a very severe head injury ... is that bone fractures heal extremely quickly and this caused problems in the management of the plaintiff's fractures. [17] The fracture of the right femur healed in six weeks ... with two and a half inches of shortening. [18] The left wrist developed deformities, so did both feet ... as a result of gross muscle spasm putting them in plantar flexion. [19] ... In December nineteen eighty seven she was transferred from intensive care to a main ward, but it was not until February nineteen eighty eight that she fully emerged from coma. [20] On the twenty fifth of April nineteen eighty eight she was transferred back to Hinchinbrook hospital. [21] A month later on the twenty fourth of May nineteen eighty eight, there was the first of a series of operations to correct deformities of both feet and the left wrist. [22] This particular operation was a lengthening of the right achilles tendon. [23] It was a long and difficult operation and caused the plaintiff considerable pain afterwards. [24] A month later on the twenty second of June nineteen eighty eight another operation lengthened the left achilles tendon. [25] On the twenty eight of September nineteen eighty eight she had a major operation on her left wrist. [26] This was again a very painful operation in that she still suffered pain for many weeks thereafter. [27] Two further operations to her left wrist were carried out on the twenty seventh of January nineteen eighty nine and the twenty sixth of April nineteen eighty nine. [28] ... These injuries, severe and painful though they were, are only a small part of the story when compared to the effects of the severe closed head injury. [29] She remained in a coma for eight months, a greater part of her time at Addenbrookes. [30] Once she had recovered full consciousness it became clear that she had entirely lost the power of speech. [31] Later it had to be accepted ... that she would be wheelchair bound for the rest of her life. [32] Effectively therefore she can neither walk nor talk and she is always going to need twenty four hour care for the rest of her life. [33] She is now aged twenty four ... and there is a normal life expectation, that is a life expectation of a further fifty five years to the age of seventy nine. [34] The picture of the plaintiff before the accident is one of a lively, bright, sociable and sporting girl in the prime of life. [35] Thoroughly enjoying her last year at school. [36] Taking her A levels and hoping to go on to read for a degree in hospitality management at Norwich City college. [37] She had already taken one A level in law and had another to take in history as well. [38] Sorry, and had another to take in history as well as an O level in mathematics at the time of the accident. [39] I should note here that there is a dispute between the parties, as to whether she would in fact obtain the grades necessary to take up that post. [40] She was a very active teenager and made many contributions to her school and community. [41] She generated great warmth and friendship and was a ... quote social animal unquote. [42] Popular both with her peers and with adults. [43] Her sister Clare, eighteen months her junior, described her as quote, a sister who seemed to be able do everything, she had a never ending social life, I was amazed how she managed to fit everything in ... unquote. [44] The plaintiff had boundless energy, played tennis and badminton for her school and had county trials for badminton. [45] She played squash, was keen on swimming and had passed a bronze medal in life saving just before her accident. [46] Her parents only came to appreciate the impact the plaintiff had made on others before her accident from the tributes that were paid to her by outsiders of the family during the months the plaintiff was in a coma at Addenbrookes. [47] I shall have more to say the plaintiff's young life when I deal with the reports that were written on her from her school ... when dealing with the loss of future earnings. [48] The contrast between her pre-accident state of health and quality of life and the plaintiff's present position after three years of in-patient treatment and more than three [...] years of devoted care at home from her parents ... is stock. [49] In addition to seeing the plaintiff in court, I have had the advantage of seeing a video, key one, showing examples of her daily routine taken on the tenth of May nineteen ninety one after she had been at home with her parents for a year. [50] I saw the video in court and I have played it again ... er since this case was adjourned in November. [51] I add a few examples from that video ... of what one can deduce as to the daily routine. [52] The plaintiff can give a little assistance to those who dress her and when she's got out of bed she can stand with the assistance of one other person. [53] She can shuffle ... while, when held in a bear hug, bear hug position ... by one of her parents in order for her to be transferred to a commode or to a wheelchair. [54] She can manoeuvre her wheelchair in the confined spaces of her present home but not without the occasionally shunt and collision. [55] She can be got with difficulty and the use of a wheelchair lift, out to the campervan the fa the family have. [56] The route itself is not simple, nor is the entry into the camper camper van up a ramp. [57] She communicates basically by using a cannon communicator which types out what she wants to say onto ticker tape which she then tears off and hands to the person to whom she wants to talk. [58] This is her method of communication, she uses her left hand mainly to tap the keys and it is necessarily a slow process. [59] She has no power of speech remaining to her, she also has an Acorn computer and types very many letters on it. [60] I have read two typed statements from the plaintiff dated the twenty ninth of April nineteen ninety one, brackets see pages one to nine ... and the twenty eighth of June nineteen ninety one, brackets see pages twenty to twenty two closed brackets. [61] Those statements were a testament to the life and spirit the plaintiff has within her. [62] The first is nine pages of typed script and took her seventeen hours to do. [63] I have also had a short conversation with her in court using the medium of her cannon communicator and its ticker tape. [64] At home she also uses the Acorn computer to play a number of computer games including golf with her father. [65] Her greatest interest seems to be in writing and receiving letters and she watches television, plays music and reads, usually magazines not books. [66] It is clear that she will never marry and have children, follow a career ... enjoy the leisure interests of her own age group or otherwise enjoy the quality of life which so many take for granted. [67] It is also clear that ... though the accident may have slightly lowered her I Q, she remains an intelligent young lady who is fully aware of everything that she has lost, but determined not to dwell on that loss. [68] The fact that she has fought back to the level that she has now attained ... is a tribute to the loving care, encouragement and inspiration given her by her parents. [69] Not only since she came home in nineteen ninety but in the three long years when she was hospitalised. |
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[70] Mr Peter the consultant orthopaedic surgeon who tended her first immediately after the accident at Hinchinbrook ... and thereafter in the year from April nineteen eighteen eight as well as seeing her from time to time since, had this to say about her parent's efforts ... quote ... I think that without their constant support and stimulation ... and their determination that Anna Jane would function again as a rational human being. [71] There is every chance that Anna Jane would have remained permanently institutionalised. [72] I think their greatest achievement was to realise ... that despite the fact that she was unable to speak, she was still able to communicate in other ways. [73] Both the parents and Anna Jane's sister ... were in constant attendance at the hospital, nursing her and stimulating her. [74] Helping with her physiotherapy and supporting her through what was very painful treatment. [75] I am sure that without their constant support, the results would have been much worse than they have been. [76] E A , eleventh of October nineteen ninety three. [77] Mr when he gave evidence, assessed the parent's contribution as ... quote ... absolutely amazing really, not just what they did to help the nurses but also in insisting that she wasn't stupid, she just couldn't talk ... they made it clear to the nurses and doctors that she could understand and we weren't to treat her like a vegetable. [78] He stated, correctly in my view, that he had quote seen her much more than anybody else unquote and confessed that when he had first treated her on the day of the accident ... he had quote never expected to see her again, unquote. [79] I say here that I have been gratefully assisted by the reports and evidence of Mr Peter ... and Mr David from Hunstead Park in this case. [80] I've also been greatly assisted ... by the detailed report and evidence of Mrs Julia the plaintiff's expert on rehabilitation costs. [81] Where her evidence is in conflict with that of Miss Judith , the defendant's expert, I prefer the former because of the depth and variety of experience Mrs has. [82] It will be necessary for me to return to Mr assessment of the quality and extent to which the parent's contribution has helped ... to achieve the plaintiff's present quality of life. [83] When I deal with the cost of [...] and care and also the cost nursing care for her future. [84] It will be seen that I have to arrive at figures in respect of damages in this case under a number of heads. [85] The first is of course that covering the plaintiff's pain, suffering and loss of amenity. [86] To that must be added her loss of earnings throughout her life in her chosen occupation. [87] There is also the cost of care ... both up to today's date given by her parents and in the future to be given by her parents and by professional carers. [88] To this must be added the cost of accommodation in the future, it being accepted on all sides that the plaintiff's present home, though much loved by her, is not suitable in any long term assessment. [89] There is also the cost of transport, to be used in the future to get her and her wheelchair about. [90] There are also a host of other matters where, in the main, agreement has helpfully been reached on the figures. [91] Sub-heading, pain, suffering and loss of amenity. [92] ... I have already drawn attention to the appalling contrast between the plaintiff's young life as it was before the accident and her life as it is now. [93] Her prolonged treatment as an in-patient meant that she was nearly a year in Addenbrookes hospital, over a year in Hinchinbrook hospital and a further year at Hunstead Park rehabilitation and medical centre. [94] The medical reports before me deal fully with those years. [95] Her time at home since leaving Hunstead on the twenty third of May nineteen ninety is well described in the reports and by her parents and her sister. [96] The expert reports detail the visits to her and describe her home surroundings. [97] She is now left in the situation where she is wheelchair bound. [98] In need of twenty four hour care to get through the day. [99] Only able to take part in a limited range of activities at home and particularly seriously, she is only able to hold a conversation by the laborious method of tapping out her comments on ticker tape through using her cannon communicator. [100] This is a severe disability in one so young, where the speed of communication of youth is an ever present part of daily life. [101] As Mr said in an earlier report, brackets B twelve closed brackets quote, ... Anna Jane is a quick witted intelligent girl and it is obviously extremely frustrating for her to have to type her conversations, unquote. [102] The psychiatric report from doctor brackets B twenty three closed brackets ... noted that, quote, most avenues of normal life are now closed to Anna and will remain closed to her permanently. [103] She retains a liveliness of mind which is quite extraordinary under the circumstances and she still displays a keen sense of humour and a warmth of contact despite the fact that she has to use a machine. [104] While this is some ways a mercy, it nonetheless serves to accentuate the loss that she experiences. [105] It will increase her anxieties about the future ... and it will also and it does indeed, cause great frustration, frustration at her terrible disabilities. [106] She is an extraordinary young woman who dares her difficulties with great fortitude and makes every effort not to show her unhappiness to those around her. [107] However, unhappiness, guilt and a sense of terrible loss is with her almost constantly. [108] I interrupt the report of doctor to si to say that I have seen that ... conclusion for myself in her writings that I have read. [109] Doctor goes on ... when one considers her potential life in terms of an academic achievement and marriage with a family, one can only say that without a shadow of doubt ... she has been devastated ... and her emotionally devastation will I fear, increase over the years, unquote. [110] For my part I entirely accept doctor assessment. [111] The plaintiff's position now is that she has to face the fact that she's wheelchair bound for life and unable to speak. [112] ... As well as the fact, already mentioned, that she requires twenty four hour care. [113] This, at the moment, is being undertaken by her parents. [114] Her father has to sleep in the same room since he has to attend to her during the night when she may need a bed pan up to four times. [115] She is generally continent but may be incontinent of urine once a week. [116] She needs assistance to get her on and off the toilet and in cleaning herself after opening her bowels. [117] She cannot brush her own hair, or clean her teeth adequately. [118] She can drink from a beaker with a lid and straw, but has to have someone with her because of the risk of choking. [119] She can hold a spoon and feed herself but only slowly and with spillage. [120] Her food has to be in sandwich or semi-pureed form for easy swallowing and again to reduce the possibility of choking. [121] She can use a pen in her right hand for short notes. [122] There is a problem with gripping ... which has shown some improvement but which is apt to be most problematical when, for instance, she is concentrating hard at her computer. [123] These constraints on the quality of her daily life, are enormous. [124] The change from what she was to what she has become ... is a vast one. [125] ... Law of the evidence in relation to that change ... will be apparent when I deal with the question of loss of future earnings. [126] As I have already indicated she has entirely lost the possibility of marriage, children and an enjoyable career. [127] It is in the light of these matters that I have to decide upon the appropriate evidence up upon the appropriate figure ... for pain, suffering and loss of amenity. [128] Naturally enough different figures are advanced by council on either side, though that difference on this particular head of damage is not great. [129] Mr for the plaintiff argues for a figure of a hundred and thirty thousand pounds ... whereas Mr for the defendant submits that the claim is worth between a hundred and fifteen and a hundred and twenty thousand. [130] Mr puts the case as comfortable with awards in the case of tetraplegia. [131] He draws support from [...] and the trustees of the Italian hospital and others ... reported in and volume two dash A four dash one O four ... and and , nineteen eighty six, one all England report, page three two two. [132] Mr on the other hand, stresses that there is no continuing pain or epilepsy and no psychiatric illness such as depression. [133] Mr stresses that there is in this case, a much longer life expectancy than in Abbel , namely fifty five compared to forty two. [134] He says that the speech difficulties and the mental injury in this case, put the damages higher than in and . [135] Both council agreed present day value of the award in that case would be in the vicinity of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds. [136] I conclude ... that taking into account all the matters ... which were before, which I've attempted briefly to summarise in the introductory paragraphs and under this heading. [137] The proper figure for general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity is one hundred and thirty thousand pounds. [138] ... . Mrs [whispering] [...] [] . [139] Mr [...] first laid plans of mice and men [...] is one page missing [...] as it is only twenty five metres away and I shall have it shortly. [140] ... I resume ... sub-heading, ... cost of parents care to date. [141] ... It is agreed that in arriving at a figure appropriate to be rewarded for the care given by the plaintiffs to the date of trial. [142] The period of six and a half years should be divided into two sections. [143] First, that from the accident and until the plaintiff was discharged from Hunstead Park in May nineteen ninety and second the period the plaintiff has spent at home from such a discharge until now. [144] For that first period, Mr claims a sum of seventeen thousand eight hundred and five pounds worked out on an hourly basis. [145] By multiplying five thousand one hundred and ten hours by three pounds fifty, a rate something under the full commercial rate. [146] In contract Mr does not count hours, but arrives at an overall figure of seven thousand five hundred pounds. [147] It must not be forgotten that for this three year period the patient was being cared for in two hospitals ... and in Hunstead Park ... by a full range of no doubt dedicated professions. [148] However, I have already referred to the views of Doctor David of the quality of the parent's care while the patient was in Hinchinbrook. [149] I shall also refer to the views of Doctor David ... as to that care when the patient was at Hunstead Park. [150] He thought the care had been, quote, managed wonderfully well, unquote. [151] He had, quote, rarely seen a case so well managed as in this case, unquote. [152] He also said in evidence that the quote, parental contribution has been of fundamental importance, unquote. [153] He attached exteme , extreme importance to their visiting in the first few years. [154] It should be stressed that in the first period, when the plaintiff was at Addenbrookes hospital, that is from June nineteen eighty seven to May nineteen eighty eight, at least one parent was in attendance for eight hours a day. [155] The help given in the first period of Addenbrookes, when the plaintiff had her own room and was for much of the time still in a coma, was clearly signifidant , significant, not only in caring for the plaintiff's physical needs, but in giving the support and encouragement which no doubt contributed greatly to the plaintiff's emergence from that coma. [156] For the second period at Hinchinbrook, from May nineteen eighty eight to May nineteen eighty nine ... again at least one parent was present for eight hours each day and assistance was given with physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. [157] The parents assumed responsibility for helping the plaintiff to eat her midday and evening meals. [158] At Hunstead Park from May nineteen eighty nine until May nineteen ninety, both parents stayed for the first week and thereafter supported the plaintiff in taking her back for home visits, every weekend plus a week at Christmas and Easter. |
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[159] I consider that it would not be appropriate t to adhere too rigidly ... to the number of hours multiplied by a rate of three pounds fifty per hour ... suggested by Mr . [160] But I feel that the sum suggested my Mr is far too low. [161] It follows that I award for this period of care by the plaintiff's parents ... the sum of fifteen thousand pounds which equates to an award of three pounds hourly for five thousand hours. [162] The second period covers the time from May nineteen ninety until now ... when the plaintiff has been solely looked after by the parents with the greatest devotion, ... application, selflessness and skill superimposed on their natural love and affection for the plaintiff. [163] That care has been without the benefit of any paid help. [164] Indeed in May nineteen ninety Mr gave up his appointment as a teacher in order that he could care for the plaintiff full time. [165] As an [...] of what he's lost by so doing, his gross salary for this financial year would have been twenty four thousand five hundred and sixty seven pounds. [166] Mrs gave up her voluntary employment in order that she too could assist full time. [167] Were the plaintiff's parents unable or unwilling to prov provide her care themselves. [168] The annual cost of full time care including two full time staff and weekend and holiday cover, would be fifty nine thousand four hundred and twenty one pounds ninety six pence, as set out in the report of Mr Julia at B one O two. [169] It was claimed that the plaintiff should be compensated for care of her parents to the full commercial rate in accordance with the principles expressed in Abbel . [170] That sum as originally claimed totalled two hundred and seven thousand, nine hundred and seventy six pounds eighty six pence for this period of care. [171] It is no conceded that that figure included matters which should not have been taken into consideration, such as the agency quotes mark-up unquotes and the effect of V A T. Figures making allowance for appropriate deductions but also including what I've said by Mr to be appropriate increases totalling one hundred and sixty thous one hundred and sixty six thousand two hundred and fifty pounds, are claimed on behalf of the plaintiff. [172] Mr relies upon what Mr Justice as he then was, called the ceiling principle, in the Abbel case, referring to the principle enunciated in and . [173] In Abbel Mr Justice found it appropriate for the plaintiff quote, to recompense his parents up to the commercial rate for one full time carer, unquote. [174] On that basis Mr took the cost of one professional carer as twenty three thousand eight hundred and six pounds a year, he multiplied by three point five and arrived at a figure of eighty three thousand three hundred and twenty one pounds. [175] Mr Mr had an alternative calculation. [176] He thought to take Mr gross salary in the present financial year, to reduce it by a third to get from gross to net earnings and to do similar calculations for the rest of the three and a half years so as to arrive at the figure of fifty three thousand nine hundred and six pounds. [177] It should be noted ... that the figure of twenty three thousand eight hundred and six pounds which Mr had had taken ... is the cost of the carer paid on the basis of quote, proscript charges, unquote, advocated by the defendant's expert Mrs and not the British Nursing Agency charges, advocated by the plaintiff's expert Mrs . [178] Brackets, for the B N A charges, see B one thirty, where the carers fee is an hourly rate of four pounds twelve pence, but the inclusive cost to the client, with the mark-up, is six pounds and ten pence. [179] Again I accept the constant parental care has been of the highest calibre and I remind myself of the many tributes to the quality of that care in the evidence before me. [180] I also remind myself of the effect upon the plaintiff's fathers career, of his decision to give up work in order to attend the plaintiff. [181] I pause to state that I accept Mr submission that no claim for loss of pension ... has been made out on the evidence before me. [182] The pension has been transferred to the Legal and General ... and has been left there at the present time to grow and be managed. [183] I should have something to say later on about future care by Mr . [184] I reject both of the methods of calculation submitted by Mr . [185] I also reject each of the additions submitted by Mr to the net commercial care valuation put by him ... at thirty six thousand one hundred and fifty pounds and seventy two pence. [186] He had advocated an addition of either a half of the agency mark-up, which would produce a figure of forty seven thousand seven hundred and eighty six pounds and thirty four pence ... or alternatively a factor of twenty five percent which would produce a figure of forty five thousand one hundred and eighty eight pounds and forty pence. [187] ... I conclude that the proper figure to be used as a cost in this second period is the net commercial care valuation of Mrs figures, which would be thirty six thousand, one hundred and fifty pounds and seventy two pence. [188] That multiplied by three point five ... comes to the figure of a hundred and twenty six thousand, five hundred and twenty seven pounds fifty two pence, which is the figure I would award. [189] [cough] . Sub-heading care for the future. [190] The problems I have to resolve under this heading are not made any easier by uncertainty, even in the short term future, as to who will be doing the caring and at what stages changes to the present regime will take place. [191] Both the father and mother have already put in six and a half years of devoted care ... and certainly physically and perhaps mentally the strains are beginning to tell. [192] I have reports from doctor , their general practitioner brackets B two one eight and two one nine, close brackets, on the state of their physical health. [193] Mr has low back pain, sometimes with left sided sciatica, which he's suffered from since the twenty second of June nineteen eighty eight and which may have been exacerbated by lifting the plaintiff. [194] Mrs has recently undergone a hysterectomy and also has recurrent neck, shoulder and arms pains from the nineteen eighty one traffic accident. [195] ... I want it to be clearly understood that I do not in any way mean to suggest there is any question of prevarication when I say that as to the prospect for the future there is essentially a difference between what the plaintiff's parents said in their statements made as recently as the twenty eighth of October of this year ... and what they said in their evidence about their attitude to future care. [196] To deal first with their statements, Mr accepted in his statement that he and his wife would not be able to care physically for Anna Jane indefinitely and spoke of the intention to introduce the use of carers gradually. [197] Mrs in her statement said that, quote, although my husband and I would like to be able to care for Anna Jane as long as possible, I accept that the last six years have taken their toll ... on us and the reality is that it's unlikely that we will be able to provide the same level of care ... and ... same level of care and outside carers are required, unquote. |
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[198] Mr in his evidence spoke of their quotes, beginning to think that alternative regime, when we began to realise that we had limits, unquote. [199] He accepted that the introduction of a night sleeper was something which couldn't be contemplated in their present accommodation because it would involve the carer sleeping in the same room as the plaintiff. [200] He accepted however that once this case was over the real hunt for more suitable accommodation would begin and by that time, at least, there could be the introduction of such a carer. [201] Mr later on in her evidence said, quote, I consider that after six and a half years, I deserve to have a life of my own, it is not a prison sentence, I have done nothing wrong, I wish to be free to give assistance at my choice, we cannot continue to live in our present home, Michael and I cannot continue to look after Anna in the way we have. [202] All these matters show that it is a vexed question when exactly there will be a change in the regime and that is a question I shall seek to answer a little later on. [203] ... However, one question, to which there is a clear answer is what is said to be the plaintiff's life expectancy. [204] It is accepted by the medical experts on either side that a t that at twenty four, the plaintiff's expectation life is substantially unaffected by the accident. [205] The life expectancy of a girl of twenty four, according to conventional tables, is for the age of seventy nine and is thus fifty five years. [206] It's on that basis that a whole life multiplier must be found. [207] Mr relies on ... Hunt and Sellers nineteen ninety three, for all England reports one eighty and two O one, where the [...] said, quote, what we need is a simple arithmetic calculation of the present value of future payments. [208] Council have provided us with a table which shows that the present value of one pound per annum, payable for the next twenty five years, discounted at four point five percent is fourteen point eight two eight two one pounds, unquote. [209] Mr relied ... on the same table to produce a figure of twenty point two five pounds on a life expectancy of fifty five years and accepted a reduction to twenty for the whole life multiplier. [210] This was an advance from the figure of nineteen claimed by the defence on the pleadings. [211] Mr contended that the case was different from Hunt and Sellers in that there was an agreed expectation of life. [212] He said that the proper approach was to be found in [...] against the National Coal Board nineteen eighty five one weekly reports nine thirty at ninety five. [213] He submitted that the multiplier should be seventeen for the whole life. [214] Those then are the two approaches of the parties in relation to the appropriate multiplier to be applied when working out the cost of future care for the plaintiff. [215] Mr had opted for the figure nineteen, for the multiplier in the pleadings in this case. [216] After the decision in and which was only reported on the fifth of October of this year in the all England reports. [217] He moved to take the figure to twenty. |
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[218] Mr selected the figure seventeen ... it is in no spirit of perversity that I have lit upon a figure not contended for by either of the parties, namely eighteen. [219] I have looked at the approach followed in and . [220] I've also looked at the approach in [...] and National Coal Board. [221] An expectation of life, as was pointed out in and nineteen seventy two one [...] sixty five at eighty five to eighty six, is a matter of probability taken for actuarial purposes to be treated as a certainty. [222] It relates to the average man or woman and no one can say whether an individual plaintiff is that average man or woman. [223] The calculation has therefore to be discounted to allow for the various imponderants. [224] In this case ... I consider particularly that there are, there are a great many imponderants. [225] I consider the and figure should be discounted down to eighteen, which is the figure I adopt for the whole life multiplier. [226] I accept Mr submissions on Autee that arrive at a different figure from him. [227] I remind myself that |
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[228] Autee was a case concerning a pension scheme. [229] In |
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[230] Autee Lord Justice had this to say at page nine two seven ... quote, ... having decided that he, brackets the judge close brackets, could make no allowance for the possibility of increased pension payments because of the increased cost of living index, he had to decide the present day value of the fixed sum payable in thirty one years time. [231] He chose a five percent discount rate table and in my opinion nobody could fault such a choice. [232] Two. [233] It was submitted A that the judge in taking a multiplier of seven to compensate the ten point four years loss, was taking a figure that was too low and B, that in applying a substantial discount for other imponderables he was discounting twice over for early death. [234] A, the judge did not explain the use of seven as a multiplier but it not suggested that such a calculation could be done with complete accuracy and using a five percent table, the judge was faced with choosing between seven and eight. [235] He chose seven and in my opinion this court should not interfere. [236] B, the discount for imponderables which the judge made in Autee's case, was twenty seven percent. [237] The judge said that the imponderables included voluntary wastage, redundancy, dismissal, supervenient ill health, disablement or death before sixty five and said that death was the major discount. [238] It was submitted that the risk of death was already taken into consideration in the expectation of life. [239] This is a misunderstanding. [240] The expectation of life is an average and assumes everybody lives to that age and then dies but in fact some die before and some after. [241] Those who die before are the important ones. [242] Sir Gordon in and nineteen seventy two [...] sixty five page five twenty six. [243] After saying that actuarial calculations were based on the performance of the average man, went on quote, the average man has an expectation of life of a certain number of years. [244] This is a matter of probability but for purposes of actuarial calculation, it has to be treated as a certainty. [245] Yet nobody can say whether an individual plaintiff is an average man or that he will live for the expectation of life of an average man of his age. [246] Any actuarial calculation must therefore be discounted to allow for the chance that he may only live for a shorter period. [247] The chances and not the probabilities are what the judge has to evaluate in any given case. [248] It is true that there is also a chance that the individual plaintiff may live longer than the average expectation of life. [249] The chances are equal either way but as a matter of calculation it can be shown that the impact of the chance of shorter life is of greater significance than that of longer life, end quote. [250] Lord Justice went on, quote, I agree with this ... indeed when making the calculations the judge had to make, those who die early are the only ones which matter because the fact of living longer than the expectation is immaterial. [251] ... It is thus that I arrive at my multiplier for the whole life of eighteen. [252] ... As to the multiplicand and the way it's arrived at. [253] There was again a [...] divergence between the parties. [254] It is worthy of note at this stage that on Mr t to say that on Mr calculations ... the figures for multiplier and multiplicand to the cost of total ca er of future care involved an addition to a total sum of one million two hundred and twenty five thousand seven hundred and fifty five pounds and twenty eight pence. [255] On Mr calculations for the defendant on the other hand ... the cost was said to be six hundred and twenty thousand three h three hundred pounds and thirty one pence. [256] In short the one calculation was almost double the other. [257] Mr set out his calculations in three separate bids. [258] The first was from now for ten years. [259] The second from that point on until the parents were in their seventies and the third after the death of the parents. [260] For the first period he took as a starting point his previously arrived figure of forty seven thousand five hundred pounds and as an end point a figure of fifty nine thousand four hundred and twenty one pounds ninety six pence, derived from Mrs . [261] A mean of the two with a multiplier of four arrived at a figure of two hundred and thirteen thousand, eight hundred and forty three pounds and ninety two pence. [262] In the second period, applying a multiplier of six to the figure of fifty nine thousand four hundred and twenty one pounds and ninety six pence, he arrived at a figure of three hundred and fifty six thousand five hundred and thirty one pounds and seventy six pence. [263] For the third period ... he applied a multiplier of ten to Mrs figure in B one O four of sixty five thousand five hundred and thirty seven pounds and ninety six pence, to produce a figure of six hundred and fifty five thousand three hundred and seventy nine pounds and sixty pence. [264] Those were the figures which he aggregated ... to produce a total of over one point two million pounds. [265] ... Mr calculations on the other hand split into two periods, one of eight years and one of nine. [266] For the first period he took as his starting point a figure of twenty thousand three hundred and seventy eight pounds to cover the parents involved. [267] That figure was made up as to sixteen thousand three hundred and seventy eight pounds being two third of Mr salary plus an addition of about four thousand pounds to cover Mrs additional help. [268] To that we added a night keeper and relief, brackets B two six four close brackets, and an allowance for physical help during the day charged at the crossroads rate which brought the total up to thirty three thousand five hundred and twenty eight pounds and twenty pence. [269] That figure multiplied by eight for the first period gave a total of two hundred and sixty eight thousand two hundred and twenty four pounds. [270] To that figure he added a total of three hundred and fifty two thousand one hundred and seven pounds for the future made up of a yearly figure of thirty nine thousand one hundred and twenty three pounds for Mrs evidence, multiplied by nine. [271] It was thus that he arrived at his figure of six hundred and twenty thousand three hundred and thirty one pounds to the overall cost of future care in this case. [272] Those contrary approaches, contrary calculations and contrary totals, the one nearly twice the other, had only to be set up to illustrate the difficulty of the problems in this case. [273] I first deal with evidence in relation to how and when the caring regime will change in the future. [274] Mr in his statement C thirty three, had said ... quote, although he wished to care for Anna Jane as long as possible, I have already begun to have problems with my back ... therefore we intend to introduce the use of carers gradually so that Anna Jane gets used to them. [275] ... I have already quoted Mrs in her statement brackets C forty eight, saying although my husband and I would like to be able to care for Anna Jane as long as possible, I accept the last six years have taken their toll on us both and in reality it's unlikely that we will continue to be able to provide the same level of care and outside is required, unquote. [276] ... By the tear by the time ... each of them came to give evidence in this case it was clear that each had brought forward in their own minds the time when daytime carers would be needed. [277] Mrs the plaintiff's expert thought it was quote, extremely unreasonable to expect Mr and Mrs to continue caring as they do for their daughter, unquote. [278] ... Mrs the defendant's expert in her statement formed the view that the plaintiff's parents quote, will remain the main carers for the rest of their natural lives, unquote. [279] She said quote, I do not accept that Mr and Mrs will hand over the care of their daughter ... to paid carers until it is absolutely necessary. |
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[280] When I discussed this possibility with them Mrs became very agitated, unquote. [281] Mrs said that quote, when the time comes that Mr and Mrs are unable to provide all or any of the care themselves, I consider that it would be appropriate to employ carers direct and not via an agency. [282] Agency care is not a permanent solution and it as agency carers can never be as good as two or three permanent staff. [283] Support for my argument that agency care is likely to be used ... comes from the findings of a follow up survey of a nineteen er sorry, comes from the findi , I I'll start that sentence again. [284] Support for my argument that agency care is unlikely to be used comes from the findings ... of a follow up survey. [285] One hundred and fifty three personal injury claims received awards of a hundred and fifty thousand or more in nineteen eighty seven and nineteen eighty eight. [286] The study found that in practice family members remained the primary carers, unquote. [287] In her evidence she said that Mr and Mrs needed assistance to care for their daughter. [288] She said I think in practice they will make considerable input in the care of their daughter, not necessarily with the heavy physical work of care. [289] I found it impossible to get from Mr and Mrs what their care would be, they were either unable or unwilling to discuss it with me, unquote. [290] As to who would provide the care she said that where there is care over a long period of time, families often stop employing carers through an agency. [291] She said quote, I really don't accept the agency argument, I've not met one family that has continued with agency care. [292] Agency care is not the answer, I'm not aware why they say agency care because they have no experience of it. [293] I think the family is being asked to accept something which they have no experience of, unquote. [294] She agreed however, that if agency care was appropriate then sixty thousand pounds plus was the cost of that care. [295] Doctor the medical expert called on behalf of the defendant, had discussed the question of future care ... in a visit he made to the plaintiff's hou home in July this year. [296] He had discussed with the pl parents in the presence of the plaintiff, the care options. [297] The conclusion was that quote, Anna Jane was to be cared for primarily by her parents, I am not saying exhaustively, they wanted to be involved for as long as they were able to do. [298] There was no dissent from Anna Jane, unquote. [299] He thought it was reasonable for them not to provide night care even now ... and essential for them to have a night sleeper for seven nights a week from this time on. [300] He thought it was also reasonable and sensible for any family involved in long term care to have additional assistance for particularly strenuous and regular activities. [301] He had in mind particularly the getting up of a patient in the morning, the morning routine and also the going to bed at night. [302] He felt that two hours in the morning and one hour at night was the appropriate assistance. [303] He spoke of the research evidence of the few people who are gi who are given money for care, taken up after the settlement of their cases and added his own experience. [304] He said quite, quote, in my experience people who have access to, or are offered this level of care, even if it's even if it is started, it is rarely continued for more than a few months. [305] ... He said the explanation was resided in two factors. [306] First the socially disrupted effect of various carers coming into the home and secondly, the practical difficulties of ob of obtaining carers. [307] He said quote, if there are relatives available, a care package does not normally work. [308] Somebody elects to stop it because it is not satisfactory, unquote. [309] As to alternative sources of care ... he thought the better answer was the crossroads organisation rather than an nursing agency. [310] ... He thought that the question of involvement ... with the patient was quote, precisely what you do not get with the agency, they, meaning the agency, are professionals taking a professional, non-involved approach. [311] No staff do it short term or as an addition to their normal job. [312] Much more commitment comes through crossroads whose workers are untrained in the sense that they are not qualified, but are expert carers. [313] He said from experience that in using an agency it was extremely difficult to get even a small number of carers, quote, you know who is coming when they arrive through the door, unquote. [314] Doctor made it clear that in comparing crossroads with a nursing agency, he was not saying that crossroad were any better than the agency but they were less expensive. [315] The current rates were between two pounds sixty and three pounds ten pence an hour. [316] I have already referred to the B N A rate, the British Nursing Agency rate of four pounds and twelve pence, without mark-up. [317] I found Doctor an impressive witness. [318] He had both academic and practical experience of the problems of which he was speaking. [319] He was lecturer in clinical [...] neurology at the University of Oxford, consultant at consultant in neurological disability at the Radford Infirmatory , Infirmary ... and the Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre, Oxford. [320] He was responsible for twenty five to thirty in-patients and thirty to forty out-patients at Rivermead, he was also responsible for a hundred and thirty patients attending Richie Russell House, Oxford for relief care. [321] I found his professional knowledge and experience for the management of patients severely disabled consequent upon head injury, to be extremely valuable. [322] I wish to state however that there were two areas in his evidence which I found myself ... totally unable to accept. [323] First, in his evidence he referred to a better solution ... as being quotes, seeks a small residential setting with some other people, unquote and went on to refer to the possibility of the plaintiff entering one of the Cheshire Homes. [324] In cross examination he accepted that there was no such reference in any report he had written in this case and agreed that quote, I don't think I've discussed Cheshire Homes before today, unquote. [325] ... Mr also achieve forensic success in demonstrating that doctor knowledge of the recent medical and other expert reports in this case, over the last two to three years, were scant. [326] That he had only looked through Mrs report on the day of his evidence and had taken five or ten minutes on Mrs report. [327] I take full account of these defects in his evidence, but overall I found his experience of the likely care regimes introduced in cashes, in cases such as that of the plaintiff ... to be of assistance. [328] I know have to give my conclusions to the resolution of that conflicting and often very, very massive evidence as to how the plaintiff's care routine will change, when it will change and from where the carers will come. [329] The starting point for these conclusions is the plaintiff's parents. [330] I have nothing but the highest admiration for the quality and devotion of the work they have put into the care of the plaintiff over the last six and a half years. [331] With the plaintiff's cooperation and the assistance of care, they have seen to it that the plaintiff was not to be institutionalised ... and that she was to be brought back into a loving home and encouraged to be the thinking, intelligent and lively person she still is. [332] However, I conclude that ... notwithstanding that the strain of all that they have done, they at present, leave them to feel that they will transfer their physical caring duties to paid helpers in the immediate future. |
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[333] That will not happen immediately ... or alternatively it will only happen for a short period of time. [334] I conclude that they have done so much and so well they will find it hard to let go those duties. [335] I conclude that after a short interregnum, which they have richly deserved and when the full regime of paid helpers may be set up, they will revert to taking an active part in the physical care of the plaintiff as well in the mental care in which they will have remained ever present. [336] I consider they will accept the continued need for a night sleeper for now on but that within a short period of instituting a full paid up carer regime ... they will revert to a regime which includes only one paid carer and will provide the further physical assistance between them. [337] I find that will continue to be the position for the next ten years. [338] ... I take as a second period the ten years thereafter ... until the parents are about their early seventies. [339] ... I conclude that it will probably ne be necessary for there to be a regime dependent on paid carers. [340] I conclude that such carers will either be obtained from the crossroads organisation or something similar ... or from private advertisement but not from a nursing agency. [341] I take as the third period ... that which follows upon the death or incapacity of the parents. [342] ... It is probable that it will be necessary to use the services of a nursing agency at this time ... because the evidence satisfies me that the tasks of the advertising for, interviewing and then appointing carers on a continuing basis will not be one which the plaintiff can carry out, nor will her sister Clare by then probably married with a family and perhaps living elsewhere, be able to undertake such frequent duties. [343] It follows that I must translate those conclusions into figures. [344] ... The cost of care for the first ten years from now on was taken by Mr on his calculations to amount to two hundred and thirteen thousand eight hundred and forty three pounds and ninety two pence, using a multiplier of four and a multiplicand of fifty three thousand four hundred and sixty pounds and ninety eight pence. [345] These figures are of course calculated on the nursing agency rates. [346] I have already indicated why I consider these rates not to be appropriate at this stage. [347] It follows that my calculations make allowance for two carers, either both being paid workers, or alternatively a combination of one worker and the joint efforts of the parents as a second, as a second worker. |
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[348] For this care I award forty thousand pounds per year and take as a multiplier ... the figure three to give a sum of one hundred and twenty thousand for the first period. [349] ... For the second period of ten years again I discount down the full agency rates, totalling fifty nine thousand four hundred and twenty one pounds and ninety six pence year yearly, to the sum of forty thousand pounds annually and to apply a multiplier of six, producing the figure of two hundred and forty thousand pounds ... for the second period. [350] For the third period, that after the parents' death or incapacity, I do accept the reasonableness of employing a nursing agency ... and therefore on this occasion I do accept Mr figure per year of sixty five thousand five hundred and thirty seven pounds and ninety six pence. [351] I apply a multiplier of nine, it follows that the figure I allow for this period ... is five hundred and thirty four thousand seven hundred and ninety seven pounds and sixty four pence ... and the total cost of future care is therefore eight hundred and ninety four thousand seven hundred and ninety seven pounds and sixty four pence. [352] Sub-heading, accommodation. [353] ... It was agreed on all sides that the present home of the family is not appropriate for the plaintiff, despite the extensive works which have necessarily been carried out to it. [354] The cost of those alterations was forty two thousand seven hundred and eighty six pounds and eighty six pence, of which the local authority paid about a quarter, namely nine thousand ... eight hundred and forty seven pounds. [355] The remainder of thirty two thousand nine hundred and thirty nine pounds and eighty six pence was covered by an interim payment by the defendants. [356] Argument has been addressed to me as to how that sum ... should fall to be represented in the damages awarded, bearing in mind ... that it has been substantially discharged by an interim payment ... and that it will not inure to any log term benefit of the plaintiff. [357] ... Suffice it to say that I find that ... had those alterations not been carried out when they were, it would not have been possible for the plaintiff to be discharged from Hunstead Park in May of nineteen ninety since her home ... would not have been suitable for her. [358] It follows that the continuing heavy costs of care at Hunstead Park would have gone on ... and would have been a proper claim against this defendant. [359] Again those alterations do not materially increase the value of the parent's home ... it is not in any event their property. [360] Evidence has been put before me of the most unusual arrangement come to, in relation to a possible ability of the parents to buy the property at half the sitting tenant valuation. [361] The legal position in relation to the ag arrangement is uncertain ... since it is not expressed to provide it for ... in the will of Mrs who is, who is the very kindly elderly ... neighbour who is the landlord, but is only contained in a letter of Mrs from whom I have not heard in evidence. [362] Whether that intention of Mrs will continue once this case is over and the plaintiff is awarded damages of the size involved here, or whether an alternative beneficiary will be found, cannot be certain. [363] In all the circumstances I consider that the proper course ... is not to find if there's any windfall element of the plaintiff's parents and therefore to ignore such arguments. [364] It follows that the cost of the alterations to the present home was a reasonable one to be born by the defendant and need not further be considered. [365] ... It is therefore to the sum which is to be awarded in relation to the plaintiff's future accommodation that I now turn. [366] It is, and always has been, common ground. [367] The plaintiff will have to move as soon as possible to move suitable ... accommodation which will inevitably be a bungalow. [368] However as with so many other things in this case, the specification for that bungalow has changed as the case has developed. [369] Mr Hugh of the Wyvern Partnership in Devizes was the architect who gave expert evidence on the subject. [370] He having specialised in designing and building accommodation for disabled people and elderly people since nineteen sixty nine. [371] He spoke of the unsuitability of the present accommodation and his report said that quote, a minimum of five usable bedrooms is required, so it may be necessary to obtain a six bedroom property and this may be difficult to find. [372] Bedrooms are required for Mr and Mrs Anna Jane, Clare and two for her carers. [373] There is only one possible option for re- housing, which should be considered and that is to purchase a three bedroomed bungalow and add ... an extension. [374] ... end quote. [375] It is clear that he was considering that that extension would add two further bedrooms [...] . [376] Mr then gave figures for that operation which totalled fifty three thousand six hundred and thirty eight pounds and fifty five pence. [377] However, as the evidence developed before him, it became clear that it was not necessary for the carers to sleep overnight and thus, plus they did not need bedrooms and therefore a four bedroomed bungalow with rooms for the plaintiff, her parents, the night sleeper and one for Clare or to be used as a spare room, would be sufficient. |
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[378] A number of estate agents property particulars were produced in evidence, none having any great relevance to the matter at issue ... and seemingly collected at random when the claim related to a five or six bedroomed bungalow. [379] Credit was given in the claim to the cost of whatever property the plaintiff would have purchased in any event had the accident not happened. [380] I accept a figure of sixty thousand pounds as representing the plaintiff's notional house in such circumstances and a hundred and twenty thousand pounds as being the probably cost of the bungalow the plaintiff is to purchase. [381] It follows that the difference that the subject of the claim is sixty thousand pounds. [382] ... Mr puts his claim for loss of interest on the extra capital employed using a multiplier of twenty at forty eight thousand two hundred and forty ... pounds. [383] This is a claim based on a four percent interest rate, not a two percent which would be used on the basis of and nineteen eighty eight three weekly report, law reports one two four seven. [384] Mr justifies abandoning the approach in and on the basis that the decision was arrived at in a different housing market, when it was reasonable to conclude that the plaintiff's loss of interest on the capital employed would be exceeded by the increase in the value of the property. [385] For my part, while I accept the housing market has changed radically since and was decided five years ago. [386] I do not feel able to speculate as to whether or not it will recover sufficiently over the period in which we are dealing as to be again a and situation. [387] I consider therefore despite Mr arguments to the contrary that the proper rate of interest to take is two percent. [388] The proper figure per annum is therefore twelve hundred pounds to which a multiplier of [...] has to be applied, making a total of twenty one thousand six hundred pounds. [389] As to the cost of alterations, the difference in sums suggest it is wide ranging. [390] Mr suggests the alterations needed to a four bedroomed bungalow will be minimal and allows only two thousand pounds for them. [391] Mr deletes only a very, a few small items totalling just over three thousand pounds worth from the fifty three thousand six hundred and thirty eight pounds and fifty five pence sum claimed in Mr report. [392] To include the building an extension thereby arriving at a total of more than fifty thousand pounds. [393] I find that the evidential basis for Mr designing and building accommodation for disabled people and elderly is only one possible option for re-housing that should be considered and that is to purchase a three bedroomed bungalow and add an extension, quotes, has gone from this case. [394] It is no longer that ... I find that it is a four bedroomed bungalow which is required, with bedrooms of sufficient size in the case of the plaintiff and the plaintiff's parents and that work of alteration er to the bungalow will be necessary along the lines of Mr report but it will not involve the building of any extension. [395] It follows that for the alterations to a four bedroomed bungalow ... to include any necessary enlargement of a bathroom ... come to a figure which I allow of twenty five thousand pounds. [396] The additional expenditure totalling seven thousand five hundred and three pounds claimed B one nine seven ... also includes ... those items which would be incurred with any move and other items which would be involved with furnishing two extra rooms. [397] Accordingly I reduce that figure to five thousand pounds. [398] I further allow additional property insurance for a four bedroomed house at fifty seven pounds and forty six pence annually with an eighteen year multiplier which gives the total sum of one thousand and thirty four pounds twenty eight pence. [399] The sums I award under the heading of accommodation therefore amount in total to fifty two thousand ... six hundred and fort thirty four pounds twenty eight pence. [400] Sub-heading loss of future earnings. [401] Before her accident the plaintiff wanted to be a conference organiser and had intended to go into hospitality management as a career. [402] To that end she had a place at Norwich City College to read for a B A in hospitality management subject to achieving the right grades in her A levels and achieving O level maths or its equivalent. [403] She had in fact taken one A level, her law exam ... but only in fact achieved a D ... grade. [404] So that ... had she been able to take her history exam, she would have needed rather a good grade there, perhaps a better grade than her past performance suggested she would have attained. [405] Again her mathematics O level was already a re-sit and again it might have been beyond her at that stage. [406] Whilst recognising all her sporting and social successes I also have to recognise that she was not an academic high flyer. [407] It is appropriate here that I quote from passages in the report of the headmaster Mr which was furnished to Norwich City College. [408] These passages ... I have already referred to as ... being extremely indicative ... of the wonderful girl that Anna Jane was before her accident and I have been very much in mind in the earlier part of my judgement. [409] It is convenient to deal with them here while we are dealing with the question of loss of future earnings. [410] As to the plaintiff's academic record ... Mr said this. [411] Anna's academic ability does not match her social skills which are outstanding, she is expected to gain a grade E in history at A level with the possibility of a D in law. [412] I pause to indicate those would not have been sufficient grades to get her her place at Norwich, close quotations, close brackets. [413] She is currently re-taking her mathics mathematics O level and hopes to obtain a grade C. She is diligent in all her studies with a determination to do as well as possible, while her powers of expression are adequate, she has a fine sense of initiative and can organise her material persuasively. [414] In the next paragraph as to special aptitude Mr went on quote, there is an outstanding ability to make others feel that she is especially interested in their welfare and to put them at their ease. [415] She is able to inspire and motivate other students to undertake community welfare tasks and she shows qualities of leadership as well as the ability to work as one of a team, close quotes. [416] That assessment has only to be read to indicart to indicate what it fortended for future success in her chosen career. [417] ... At the further confidential statement by Mr runs to four pages ... er, sorry, I'm sorry, runs to four paragraphs ... and because of the insight into the plaintiff before the accident I will read it in its entirety. [418] Quote, Anna is possibly the most socially competent member of a sixth form of more than two hundred students. [419] Unfortunately this is not matched by her academic ability. [420] She can expect to obtain an E in history at A level, possibly a D in law. [421] She is re-taking mathematics O level in November and after private tuition is expected to gain a C grade. |
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[422] This is to tell only part of the story however ... Anna is diligent in all her studies with a determination to do as well as possible, while her powers of expression are adequate she has a fine sense of initiative and within her limitations can organise her materials persuasively. [423] In terms other than the academic, Anna is the ideal sixth former. [424] She has played an active part in the sixth form committee, displaying remarkable skills in organising and motivating others. [425] She was an outstanding publicity manager for a recent school drama production, enlisting the support of local businesses as well as that of other students. [426] She has applied to the Barbican and Wembley Conference Centre in the hopes of obtaining work experience in her chosen career before starting the course of training. [427] Anna undertakes all she does with a disarming cheerfulness and delightful charm. [428] She has a most endearing, conscientious character. [429] Throughout her school career Anna has been involved in a plethora of sporting clubs participating as fully in organisation terms ... as she has as a sportswoman. |
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[430] Having talked sensibly to Anna about her chosen course of study, I am certain she is aware of the demands it will make on her. [431] She sha she has also asked if her place could be deferred for a year ... so that she may gain as much relevant experience as possible before taking up the course. [432] She has considered this most carefully and all her tutors are agreed she would suit the course admirably. [433] We are confident in recommending her strongly to you. [434] ... I say again ... that it is clear those qualities ... would have been idly suited, ideally suited to the career she wished ... to embark upon. [435] ... As to what would have happened ... without the event of the accident in her A level year by way of results, I regret I have to find as a fact ... that she would not in the year of her accident, have achieved the grades necessary for her to take up a place at Norwich City College. [436] I hasten to add however, that in my view that would not have materially altered her ability to go on to get a qualification and succeed in her chosen career. [437] I find that the qualifications ... she would have got was either the degree she hoped for or a Higher National Diploma for reasons which I shall now set out. [438] The evidence of whether she would have taken up her place at Norwich in Autumn nineteen eighty seven or would have taken a year off and started in Autumn nineteen eight eight is equivocal. [439] If anything it points, as is indicated in the report I've just read, to there being a year off. [440] Equally sums for loss of earnings in that year are claimed in the plaintiff's claim. [441] On the balance of probabilities therefore I find she would not have started her course until Autumn nineteen eighty eight. [442] Thereby finishing her degree course in the Summer of nineteen ninety two. [443] I find on the balance of probabilities that if she did not achieve the necessary results for entry to college in the Summer of nineteen eighty seven, she would have achieved such grades by using ... the year Summer nineteen eighty seven to Summer nineteen eighty eight to re-site whatever was necessary. [444] I'm satisfied that with her persistence and the loving encouragement of her parents, she would by then have achieved the necessary entrance qualifications. [445] It follows that even by [...] she would again have finished her degree in the Summer of nineteen ninety two. [446] ... If I'm wrong as to that, there was also open to her a further route to a degree qualification. [447] That was to start a H N D course in the Autumn of nineteen eighty seven, completing the two years in the Summer of nineteen eighty nine. [448] The evidence was that it was then possible to change from the H N D course to start the second year of the graduate course in what had been Autumn nineteen eighty nine. [449] That route to a B A in hospitality and match mana management would have again ended with her graduation in the Summer of nineteen ninety two. [450] I am satisfied that whichever route she followed the plaintiff had sufficient intelligence, personality and drive ... to achieve the degree she wanted by the Summer of nineteen ninety two. [451] Her career after graduation was the subject of expert evidence given by Mr for the plaintiffs. [452] His qualifications were impressive and his evidence persuasive. [453] I accept the level of attainance of which he spoke as being likely in the case of the plaintiff's career and I accept the sums which he spoke of as her potential earnings. [454] No contrary evidence was called, although Mr evidence was clearly tested in cross examination. [455] As at today's date, she was at the age of twenty, as she i , as at today's date she, at the age of twenty four, would have had a further working life of thirty six years. [456] ... I note that there is in train a proposal to change legislation ... to provide for a later retirement date ... for females to equate with those of the males. [457] That is not a matter that I can take into ... consideration other than to say that I am ... satisfied that the proper figure for a multiplier for working life, er which I shall take in this case, is the multiplier of sixteen contended for by Mr . [458] I take that multiplier and divide it into separate periods ... of one, three and twelve respectively. [459] ... From Mr evidence I assessed her net year earnings up to her fourth year as nine thousand pounds and with a multiplier of one, award that sum. [460] For the years from the fourth to the tenth I assess her net earnings at twelve thousand three hundred pounds and award the sum of thirty six thousand nine hundred pounds on a multiplier of three. [461] For the third period in general management for the rest of her working life, I assess her annual salary at fifteen thousand nine hundred pounds net, to which I apply a multiplier of twelve to reach the figure of one hundred and ninety thousand eight hundred pounds. [462] The total sum awarded for loss of future earnings is therefore two hundred and thirty six thousand seven hundred pounds. [463] To that sum must be added under a different heading of damages, past loss of earnings for the period when she would have entered the catering industry. [464] Namely some time in the Summer or Autumn of nineteen ninety two until today's date in December nineteen ninety three. [465] I accept from Mr that she would have been a trainee manager for some part of that time and I assess her salary as being something like seven thousand pounds net. [466] I consider that she would have found a job by early Autumn and therefore the sum must be more than a, nearly a year's earnings and I assess it at eight thousand pounds. [467] ... I do not make any award for the sums claimed from disposable income for her employment during the said, the alleged year off, since I'm not satisfied she would have had a year off, or would have had any disposable income even if she had taken that year. [468] Again, I do not feel she would have had any disposable income from her grant at college or part time earnings. [469] The total sum awarded in relation to future loss of earnings is therefore two hundred and thirty six thousand seven hundred pounds and that for past loss of earnings is eight thousand pounds making a total of forty four thousand seven hundred pounds. [470] Sub-heading transport. [471] ... It is accepted that the plaintiff has a need for a new vehicle to accommodate her and her wheelchair and to replace the parent's Volkswagen. [472] It is also accepted that the Nissan Prairie is a suitable vehicle for the plaintiff's needs. [473] There is a dispute as to whether the cost of air-conditioning on that vehicle is property claimable, but I hold that in view of the plaintiff's physical needs as to temperature, air-conditioning is reasonably necessary. [474] The cost of the Nissan Prairie is agreed at twenty two thousand six hundred and eight five. [475] Mr claims for a five year replacement cycle, but I consider the vehicle is likely to have a lower mileage than is usual and that the replacement cycle should be one of eight years. [476] I apply the A A schedule of motoring costs, B one eight one, for an engine capacity of two thousand and one to three thousand C C, of three thousand two hundred and eighty eight pounds and eighty eight pence and subtract from that figure the corresponding figure for an engine capacity of one thousand and one to fourteen hundred C C, namely one thousand two hundred and fifty three pounds and thirteen pence for the vehicle I find that she would otherwise have run. |