Wakilii

Muwanga v Sterling Civil Engineering Uganda Limited (Civil Appeal 20 1993)

Supreme Court · [1994] UGSC 53 · 1994 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Appeal to the Supreme Court against the quantum of damages awarded by the High Court in a personal injury (running-down) suit.
Decision
Appeal dismissed; trial court's award of Shs. 800,000 general damages upheld

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The appellant appealed against the quantum of general damages (Shs. 800,000) on the sole ground that the award was inadequate. The Supreme Court restated the principle that an appellate court will not interfere with a trial court's assessment of damages unless the lower court failed to properly appraise the evidence and thereby made a wholly erroneous estimate, resulting in a sum that is too small or too large. The Court found no error in principle: the appellant's injuries had healed fairly well, there was no evidence of permanent disability, loss of employment, reduced income or psychological injury. It accordingly held it was not entitled to interfere with the award and dismissed the appeal with costs to the respondent.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed; trial court's award of Shs. 800,000 general damages upheld

Facts

On 8 August 1988 at Rawoio in Mukono District, the respondent's lorry, driven by its driver Ssenyonjo, collided with a car in which the appellant was travelling. Three occupants of the car died at the scene. Several survivors filed separate suits for damages; liability was admitted by the respondent following its admission in a test suit. The appellant sued for general and special damages. He sustained dislocation of the right leg, a simple fracture of the right femur, cut wounds to the chest, right hand, right side of the neck, calf and forehead, and persistent pain in the right leg, shoulder and chest. Dr. Matovu (PW2), who treated him at Jinja Hospital, supported the evidence of injury but did not assess any permanent disability. The appellant, a driver with Bugungu Coffee Factory, was reassigned to lighter duties and gave up playing football. The trial judge awarded Shs. 800,000 general damages and Shs. 3,000 special damages, rejecting an unproven Shs. 200,000 medical-expenses claim.

Issues

  1. Whether the trial judge erred in principle in his assessment of general damages such that the appellate court should interfere with the quantum awarded.
  2. Whether the general damages of Shs. 800,000 awarded for the appellant's injuries were inadequate.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Costs of the appeal to the respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Damages — Appellate Interference with Quantum — Wholly Erroneous Estimate
An appellate court will not interfere with a trial court's assessment of damages unless the trial court failed to properly appraise the evidence and thereby made a wholly erroneous estimate resulting in a sum that is too small or too large; it should not reverse the trial judge on quantum merely because it would itself have awarded a higher sum.
General Damages — Personal Injury — Use of Comparable Awards
When assessing general damages in running-down (personal injury) cases the court ought to look to awards made in other decided cases for guidance, since the injuries in such cases are never identical, and counsel are expected to cite comparable authorities.
Personal Injury — Heads of General Damage — Absence of Permanent Disability
Where the evidence shows that the injuries have healed fairly well and there is no proof of permanent disability, loss of employment, reduced income or psychological injury, an appellant fails to establish that the trial judge erred in principle in fixing the quantum of general damages.

Cases cited (5)

  • Davies & Anor v Powell [1942] 1 All ER 657
  • Flint v Lovell [1935] 1 KB 354
  • Nunoo v iiiorooe (1952) 21 EACA 50
  • i6tha v Patei (1954) 22 EACA 159
  • EiDoir v Sinqh (1955) EACA 125 at 129

Full judgment

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

Muwanga v Sterling Civil Engineering Uganda Limited (Civil Appeal 20 1993) [1994] UGSC 53 (4 March 1994)
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.