Matiya & 2 Others v Uganda Transport Co. (1975) Limited (Civil Appeal 10 of 1993)

Supreme Court · [1993] UGSC 40 · 1993 Appeal Allowed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download

Jurisdiction

Uganda

Case Type

Civil appeal to the Supreme Court against the High Court's assessment of general damages for personal injuries

Decision

Appeal allowed; general damages increased for all three appellants, with the third appellant's claim upheld and damages assessed

The full judgment

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AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions — always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal against the High Court's assessment of general damages for road-accident injuries. An appellate court may interfere only where the judge applied a wrong principle or the award is a wholly erroneous estimate. The trial judge erred by ignoring the distinction between above- and below-knee amputation and by treating outdated awards as a reliable guide. Damages should reflect the most recent decisions and the current purchasing value of money. Once liability is admitted it cannot be reversed without valid grounds, and a minor discrepancy between lay and medical descriptions of an injury was not a material contradiction. Awards were substituted at shs.9m, shs.1.5m and shs.2m.

Facts

The three appellants were passengers in the respondent's bus when it collided with an army lorry on the Kampala–Masaka Road on 8 August 1988, sustaining personal injuries. They sued the respondent, which admitted 80% liability, the balance being attributed to the army lorry whose owner was not joined. The matter proceeded to assessment of damages. The first appellant, a 40-year-old builder and painter, suffered a crush injury leading to an above-knee amputation with 60% permanent disability. The second appellant, a 32-year-old carpenter, suffered a compound fracture of the left femur that united with one-inch shortening and knee stiffness, a 25% disability. The third appellant, a 32-year-old tailor, sustained a fractured right hip reduced by 30 degrees, a 30% disability. The trial judge awarded the first appellant shs.4 million and the second appellant shs.600,000, and dismissed the third appellant's claim on the basis of an apparent contradiction between her evidence and the medical evidence.

Issues

Whether the general damages of shs.4 million awarded to the first appellant were so inordinately low as to justify appellate interference.
Whether the general damages of shs.600,000 awarded to the second appellant were so inordinately low as to justify appellate interference.
Whether the trial judge erred in dismissing the third appellant's claim and failing to assess her damages after liability had been admitted.
On what basis a court should assess general damages for personal injury given the devaluation of the Uganda shilling.

Orders

Appeal allowed with costs to the appellants.
The awards and order of the trial court set aside.
Award of shs.9 million general damages substituted for the first appellant.
Award of shs.1.5 million general damages substituted for the second appellant.
Award of shs.2 million general damages made to the third appellant.
Costs of the appeal and of the proceedings in the High Court to the appellants.

Key headnotes

Damages — Appellate interference with award — Principles

An appellate court may interfere with a trial judge's award of damages only where it is shown that the judge proceeded on a wrong principle of law or misapprehended the evidence in some material respect, or that the amount is so inordinately high or low as to be a wholly erroneous estimate of the damage.

Personal injury — Leg amputation — Above-knee versus below-knee

In assessing damages for leg injuries involving amputation a court must distinguish between an amputation below the knee and one above the knee; as a rule there is greater disability where the amputation is in the thigh, and larger sums are awarded in such cases.

Assessment — Currency devaluation — Relevant guide

Damages should be assessed by reference to the most recent court decisions and the current value of money in terms of the goods and services it can purchase; merely converting older awards into US dollars at the historical exchange rate and multiplying by the current rate is not a realistic guide.

Admission of liability — Whether trial judge may reverse

Once a defendant has admitted liability it is not proper for the trial judge to reverse that admission unless there are valid grounds for doing so; the matter proceeds only to assessment of damages.

Medical evidence — Lay versus expert description of injury

An apparent discrepancy between a lay party's description of an injury and a doctor's classification of it (such as dislocation versus fracture) is not a material contradiction; only a doctor can give an authoritative description of an injury, and the medical evidence should be accepted.

Legislation cited (1)

Supreme Court Rules r.97

Cases cited (12)

Henry H. Ilanga v Manyoka (1961) EA 705
Nance v British Columbia Electric Railway Co Ltd [1951] A.C. 601
Flint v Lovell [1935] 1 KB 354
Davies v Powell Duffryn Associated Collieries Ltd [1942] A.C. 601
Associated Architects v Christine Nazziwa (Civil Appeal No. 5 of 1981)
Byarugaba v Kilembe Mines Ltd (1972) EA 341
Kyambadde v Uganda Electricity Board (HCCS No. 1 of 1990)
Godfrey Kateregga v Uganda Electricity Board (HCCS No. 93(B) of 1989)
Wamala Stephen v Abdu Kabuzi (HCCS No. 981 of 1989)
Erisa Musamali v Uganda Electricity Board (HCCS No. 8 of 1990)
Christopher Kiggundu and Another v Uganda Transport Co. (1975) Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 7 of 1993)
Marion Akankwasa v Attorney General [1982] HCB 69

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