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april 1991
period equal to the plaintiff's
life expectancy. The following
table shows the correct value
and the value based on the life
expectancy.
6.2
Assets
In a fatal case, as well as
having regard to the support
lost by the dependants of the
deceased, account must be
taken of any assets which
pass to them. Let me briefly
refer again to the judgment of
Lord Diplock in the
Mallett -v-
McMonagle
case where he
said:
" . . . credit being given for
the value of any material
benefits which will pass to
them . . . "
Section 50 of the Civil
Liability Act, 1961 excludes
the proceeds of life policies
and any pension, gratuity or
like benefit. The practice exists
also of ignoring the family
home as an asset where the
plaintiff is the spouse of the
deceased.
Clearly a dependant has
gained in receiving assets as a
result of the early death of the
deceased. That dependant,
however, had an expectation
in the asset had the depend-
ant survived the deceased.
By virtue of the death the
dependant has gained the
difference between the asset
received and the value of
the expectation of receiving
the asset in the event of
the deceased predeceasing
the dependant. The value of
the expectation is a straight-
forward actuarial calculation.
6.3
Lost years
In an injury case where the life
expectancy of the plaintiff is
impaired as a result of the
injuries received the question
arises as to how, if at all,
should damages be calculated
to compensate for the "lost
years".
In 1966 an appeal was
heard in the Supreme Court in
the case of
Doherty
-v-
Bowater Mills Ltd.
[1968] IR
277, SC. This was a case in
which a man was seriously
injured. His normal life
expectancy would have been
about 38 years but as a result
of the injuries it was reduced
by one quarter. Actuarial
evidence was given at the trial
as to the capital value of future
earnings based on the reduced
life expectancy. The evidence
so given was taken and acted
upon on the assumption that
the Plaintiff was not entitled to
recover, as part of his dam-
ages, any sum in respect of
the loss of wages for the
number of years by which his
expectation had been reduced.
The trial judge expressed the
view that was the correct legal
position.
In the Supreme Court appeal
of the case Mr. Justice Walsh
in his judgment said:
"In my opinion the period or
the length of time by which
the expectation of life has
been reduced must also be
taken into account though,
of course, for that particular
period
the sum to be
considered would not be the
gross loss of wages for the
period but the surplus, if any,
after providing for what it
would
have cost
fthe
Plaintiff) to live during those
years if he had not had the
accident".
/11968] IR 277,
285).
There is a common sense
approach to the problem of the
lost years which I suggest is
arrived at in the following way.
In a fatal case the claim for
loss is based on the support
which the dependants of the
deceased received and would
have expected to receive from
the deceased. In a more
simplistic way this is viewed in
the British Courts as being the
wages of the deceased less
whatever amount thereof he
might have spent on himself.
A more detailed and pragmatic
approach is adopted in the
Irish Courts and I shall say
more about that later on. In
an injury case on the other
hand what a plaintiff can
claim is the value of the wages
or income that he or she has
lost.
Where a person's life ex-
pectancy has been impaired,
as in the
Doherty -v- Bowater
case, what we are looking at,
based upon the figures in that
case, is a situation where
Doherty could have expected
to live for about 38 years but
as a result of the accident
would live for only 28 years. Is
it not reasonable to say that
for the reduced life expectancy
he can claim the loss of wages
and for the difference between
the reduced expectancy and
normal expectancy his de-
pendants have a claim?
Essentially, in my opinion, this
is what the Supreme Court
held in the appeal of the
Doherty -v- Bowater
casa
Where there is any question
of on-going medical or other
expenses clearly these can be
claimed only in respect of the
reduced life span of the
Plaintiff.
7. VALUING A FATAL CASE
7.1
Data
The information required to
enable an actuary to value a
fatal case is set out in the
Appendix to this paper. Most
of this information will be
included in the Statement of
Claim and Particulars and in
any request for further
Particulars and the Reply
thereto. It may well be that,
having received and con-
Age
Life
Value of £1 per week
Expectancy
Actuarially
Based on
Error
calculated
expectancy
20
52.54
1133
1161
2%
30
43.08
1053
1085
3%
40
33.60
936
974
4%
50
24.53
779
822
6%
60
16.56
597
636
6%
70
10.13
410
436
6%
148