NSW Caselaw
DE GROOT v DARLING
SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COURT OF APPEAL
CLARKE, HANDLEY and SHELLER JJA 8 July 1994, 8 July 1994
[1994] NSWCA 81 DAMAGES — QUANTUM — NO QUESTION OF PRINCIPLE
DAMAGES — motor vehicle accident — whether claims for non-economic loss and past economic loss made out — held: They had been — no question of principle.
Handley JA This is an appeal from the assessment, by his Honour Judge McDevitt, of the damages the plaintiff sustained as a result of a motor vehicle accident. No issue arises as to liability.
The accident occurred on 15 November 1987 and the damages, therefore, are to be assessed in accordance with the Motor Accident Act, 1988.
His Honour declined to allow any sum for non economic loss, on the ground that he was not satisfied that the injury had significantly interfered with the plaintiff's personal or working life and, accordingly, the threshold under s79(1) of the Motor Accident Act had not been satisfied. He allowed an amount of $10,000 as a cushion for future economic loss, and out of pockets, resulting in judgment for $10,954.09.
The plaintiff challenges his Honour's refusal to award any sums for past economic loss, and for non-economic loss. There is no doubt that the plaintiff had made a substantial recovery by the date of trial, but she was still suffering from the effects of the injury and, in particular, she had difficulty moving her arms above her shoulders.
The accident caused soft tissue injuries to the plaintiff's low back, her pelvic areas and her neck.
It is fair to say that on the medical evidence and on his Honour's findings, the plaintiff had substantially recovered from the effects of the injury to her low back and pelvic areas, but there were persisting problems in relation to the soft tissues of the neck. By the time of hearing these had ceased to affect the plaintiff in the way she looked after her five children and performed ordinary activities around the house. However, it is clear, as I have said, that there were still continuing problems with her neck.
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