Impressa Ingfortunato Federici v Dr Wambete and Another (Civil Appeal 28 of 1998)

Observed later treatment

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

Holding

On a first appeal against the quantum of general damages in a personal injury negligence suit (liability admitted), the Court of Appeal held that an appellate court may only interfere with a damages award where the trial judge proceeded on a wrong principle or misapprehended the evidence, resulting in an inordinately high or low figure. The trial judge erred in relying on a medical report (ID2) that was hearsay and inadmissible because its author never tendered it in evidence, and that report had influenced the assessment. The injuries, including loss of speech and hearing, were nonetheless proved on the balance of probabilities by other admissible evidence. The Court reduced general damages from Shs.25,000,000 to Shs.20,000,000.

Outcome

General damages reduced from Shs.25,000,000 to Shs.20,000,000; appeal partially allowed

Facts

Irene Nabwire, aged seven, was knocked down by the appellant company's motor vehicle while walking along Cathedral Avenue in Mbale Municipality on 25 August 1995. The vehicle was allegedly negligently driven by Ali Gumasi, an employee of the appellant acting within the scope of his employment. The child sustained a compound fracture of the left femur, a closed head injury, shock and pain, and was admitted unconscious at Mbale Hospital. During treatment it was realised she could not hear and was losing the speech she had mastered by age seven. She was treated by Dr Jaffa Balyejussa and later referred to an ENT specialist/audiologist. She became permanently deaf and dumb, with permanent disability assessed at 70 percent. In the High Court the appellant admitted liability, leaving only assessment of damages. The trial judge awarded Shs.25,000,000 general damages and Shs.598,000 special damages. The appellant appealed against the general damages award as excessive and based partly on inadmissible hearsay medical evidence.

Issues

1. Whether the trial court's award of general damages was inordinately high and based on wrong principles.
2. Whether it was proved that the respondent lost her speech and hearing as a result of the accident.
3. Whether the trial judge erred in relying on hearsay and inadmissible medical evidence (ID2) that was never tendered by its author.

Orders

• Appeal partially allowed.
• Award of Shs.25,000,000 general damages set aside and substituted with Shs.20,000,000.
• Interest at court rate from date of judgment in the lower court till payment in full.
• Each party to bear its own costs of the appeal.

Rules and key headnotes

Legislation cited (3)

• Evidence Act s.100
• Evidence Act s.102
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 17 rule 6

Cases cited (9)

• Jadwan v. Attorney General & Anor. HCCS No. 766/90 [1993] KHLR 77
• Musisi Diriso & 3 ors vs Njoku ? Civil Appeal No. 24/93 Supreme Court (unreported)
• Halito Bwilbulcilo & 2 ors vs. Uganda Transport Co, [1975] Ltd., Civil Appeal No. 10/93, Supreme Court (unreported)
• Bhogal vs Burbidge & Anor [1975] EA 285
• Eriau Musisimuli vs Uganda Electricity Board HCCS No. 8/90 (unreported)
• Bericiluri Twerenriliize vs Uganda Electricity Board HCCS No. 51/93 (unreported)
• Dinkerai Ramkrishan Pandya vs R [1957] EA 336
• Peters v Sunday Post Limited [1958] EA 424
• Associated Architects vs Christine Nakawa [1985] HCB

Cases citing this judgment (1)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

• Impressa Infortunato Federici v Irene Nabwire (Civil Appeal 3 of 2000)

The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.