Kiggundu and Another v Uganda Transport Company (1975) Limited (Civil Appeal 7 of 93)
Observed later treatment
No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.
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Holding
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal on quantum. It held that the trial judge's general-damages awards were too low given the severity of the injuries — the first appellant's leg was amputated above the knee and the second appellant fractured his femur — and increased them from Shs 5.5 million to Shs 10 million and from Shs 600,000 to Shs 2 million respectively. The court further held that cash stolen from an accident victim while unconscious is a foreseeable consequence of the negligence and recoverable as special damages where the loss is established, awarding the first appellant Shs 200,000 for lost cash. Claims for lost watch, shoes and loss of earnings failed for want of strict proof.
Outcome
Appeal allowed; general damages awards to both appellants increased and special damages for lost cash awarded to the first appellant
Facts
The appellants were fare-paying passengers on the respondent's bus travelling from Kampala to Lira. The bus overturned at Nakasongola and both were injured. The first appellant suffered a crush injury to the right leg, which was amputated above the knee, leaving him with permanent disability. He also lost cash he was carrying (Shs 200,000, intended for buying groundnuts for sale in Lira), a watch and a pair of shoes; he claimed his cash was taken while he lay unconscious after being knocked down. The second appellant sustained a fracture of the right femur and a sprain of the right shoulder, with a steel pin inserted, resulting in a permanent limp. The High Court awarded the first appellant Shs 5.5 million and the second appellant Shs 600,000 in general damages, disallowed all special damages for want of strict proof, and rejected both appellants' claims for loss of earnings for lack of evidence. The appellants appealed against the adequacy of the general damages and the refusal of special damages.
Issues
- Whether the trial judge's award of general damages was inordinately low and an erroneous estimate of the damages to which the appellants were entitled.
- Whether the trial judge erred in law in failing to award the first appellant special damages.
- Whether the trial judge erred in law and fact in holding that the second appellant had not sustained a fractured femur.
Orders
- Appeal allowed.
- The award of Shs 5.5 million general damages to the first appellant set aside and a sum of Shs 10 million substituted.
- The award of Shs 600,000 general damages to the second appellant set aside and a sum of Shs 2 million substituted.
- The first appellant awarded Shs 200,000 special damages for cash lost in the accident.
- General damages to carry interest at the court rate from the date of judgment.
- Special damages awarded to the first plaintiff to carry interest at the commercial rate from the date of filing the suit.
- Respondent to pay the costs of the appeal.
Rules and key headnotes
Full judgment
The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.