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Judgment date: December 18, 1996
Turnbull v Kenneth General Damages: £ 20,000 Male, fishmonger, 30 at time of accident and 34 at trial, suffered a whiplash injury to cervical spine, a wedge compression fracture at L1 (at first undiagnosed), severe chest contusion and cut forehead and fingers. He was confined to bed for three weeks and was initially reliant on his girlfriend for help. The chest pain and bruising took two months to settle and during this time he wore a collar and underwent physiotherapy. He suffered severe headaches. Restriction of thoraco lumbar movement grew worse and the L1 fracture was only diagnosed after five months. Physiotherapy was prescribed for another six months. Two scars on the forehead faded within a year, but the scarred fingers remained sensitive and numb, especially when plunged in freezing water. The lower back remained intermittently painful and was unlikely to resolve. Movements of the cervical spine also remained reduced by 50 per cent. The spine was expected to grow stiffer and more painful in the next 15 to 20 years, and secondary facetal arthritis was likely. He already had occasional numbness in the legs, suggestive of some possible damage to the spinal cord. He was unfit for golf, dancing, walking and sitting for long periods caused discomfort. The headaches had decreased by the date of trial and were only suffered under bright lights. When proceedings began his job was already at risk owing to heavy lifting. His employers were sympathetic but despite a change of duties to work as a buyer he could not cope and was medically retired. He had retrained in computer technology but had found no alternative employment. He was unfit for heavy manual work. Shortly before his forced retirement the shop owner had retired and offered his shops to his managers. T projected loss of earnings on two alternative bases: principally, as a self employed fishmonger, taking over a shop from 1993 and as a salaried employee, until ordinary retirement age. The judge found the former too speculative and awarded loss of earnings to trial and beyond on the secondary basis. General Damages: £ 20,000. Special damages: £ 25,312. Loss of DIY capacity: £ 8,500. Loss of future earnings: (Continued on page 497) |
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