Ntimba v Uganda Electricity Board (Civil Appeal 16 of 1992)

Supreme Court · [1997] UGSC 13 · 1997 Appeal Allowed ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download

Jurisdiction

Uganda

Case Type

Appeal to the Supreme Court against the quantum of general damages awarded by the High Court for personal injury

Decision

Appeal allowed; general damages increased to shs.18,000,000 and judgment entered for shs.29,856,000

The full judgment

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Holding

The appellant sustained catastrophic injuries (loss of right eye and dim vision in the left, amputated right leg, weakness of the right hand, extensive burns, and 80% assessed disability) while working for the respondent, leaving him wheelchair-bound and wholly dependent on his wife. Liability was not contested. The Supreme Court held that the trial court's award of shs.9,000,000 general damages for pain and suffering and loss of amenities was inordinately low given the severity and permanence of the disability and comparable awards. It allowed the appeal and increased general damages to shs.18,000,000, entering judgment in the total sum of shs.29,856,000 (inclusive of the unchallenged shs.11,856,000 for future earnings), with costs to the appellant.

Facts

The appellant was seriously injured while working for the respondent, the Uganda Electricity Board. The Board was found liable and that finding was not appealed. The injuries were catastrophic: he lost the sight of his right eye and could see only dimly with the left, his right leg was amputated above the knee, his right hand was weakened so that he could not write, he suffered extensive burns to the scalp and face (involving the bone of the parietal region) and a superficial burn to the right shoulder, with skin grafted from his left thigh. Medical doctors assessed his disability at 80%. Aged 57, he was confined to a wheelchair for life, unable to dress, bathe or use the toilet without help, and wholly dependent on his wife, who did no other work. The trial judge awarded shs.9,000,000 general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenities and shs.11,856,000 for future earnings; only the general-damages award was challenged on appeal.

Issues

Whether the trial court's award of shs.9,000,000 as general damages for pain and suffering and loss of amenities was inordinately low and ought to be increased.

Orders

Appeal allowed.
Award of general damages varied from shs.9,000,000 to shs.18,000,000.
Judgment entered for shs.29,856,000.
Costs of the appeal awarded to the appellant.

Key headnotes

Damages & Quantum — General Damages — Appellate Interference with Trial Court's Assessment

An appellate court will interfere with a trial court's assessment of general damages where the award is inordinately low having regard to the severity and permanence of the injury and to comparable awards.

Tort Law — Personal Injury — General Damages for Pain, Suffering and Loss of Amenities

In assessing general damages for catastrophic personal injury, the court has regard to the extent of permanent disability, total dependence on others and the loss of capacity to enjoy life, and may set an award at a level which, if wisely invested, provides income to meet the victim's continuing needs.

Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.