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Consideration might have
to be given to apportioning
the money not only to
husband and wife but also
amongst other children -
this, in my experience, is a
rare occurence.
7.5.4
After retirement
When an individual retires,
probably at age 65, that
person as likely as not will
experience a reduction in
gross income and no doubt
in take home pay. As with
the period between death
and date of trial, in which
suppo rt is assumed to
increase in line with in-
creases in earnings, so also
must one allow for a
reduction in support as a
result of a reduction in
income at retirement.
8. OTHER TYPES OF CASES
8.1
Wrongful dismissal
Wrongful dismissal can arise
because of a breach of con-
tract in which event one would
be in the Law Courts or there
might be unfair dismissal, in
which event one is appearing
before the Employment Ap-
peals Tribunal. The essential
difference is that in the latter
case compensation is restrict-
ed to 104 weeks remuneration
irrespective of the value of the
loss.
In wrongful dismissal cases
the major function performed
by an actuary is in valuing any
pension rights that might be
lost as a result of an individual
losing his or her job.
8.2
Criminal Injuries Tribunal
The Criminal Injuries Com-
pensation Tribunal can award
damages to people who have
suffered as a result of criminal
injuries, for example the family
of a man who might have been
murdered or an individual who
might have received injury in a
fight. The compensation is
paid out of Government funds
and is totally gratuitous.
Because of that, the ex-
clusions in Section 50 of the
Civil Liability Act, 1961 and
in Section 2 of the Civil
Liability (Amendment) Act,
1964 do not apply in so far
as pensions payable by the
State are concerned, i.e. a
w i d ow ' s
pension or a
disablement pension - in
other words, the Government
is not going to compensate
somebody twice.
8.3
Garda Compensation Acts
These Acts provide a basis for
compensation in the event
that a Garda is injured or
killed in the course of duty. In
the event of death, a widow's
pension is not set off against
the financial loss but, in
t he event of injury, any
pension payable is taken into
account.
9. CONCLUSION
The v i ews expressed in
this paper are my own. Any
errors are entirely my responsi-
bility.
APPENDIX
1. Date of death.
2. Dates of birth of deceased, his
wife, of each of his children
and any other statutory de-
pendants who were financially
dependent on him.
3. How much was deceased
earning at the time of his
death?
4. If deceased were still alive
what would he now be earning
and how, and wi th effect from
what dates, has this altered
between the date of his death
and the present time?
5. What deductions were made
for tax and social welfare at the
time of his death, and what
deductions for these items
would now be made?
6. Was deceased's wife working
at the time of his death and, if
so, how much was she
earning? How much is she now
earning? If no longer working,
is this as a direct result of
deceased's death or for other
reasons?
7. How did deceased spend his
income?
(a) Did he give his total income
to his wife, who in turn
gave him pocket money or
(b) did he withhold some of
pocket money, and give the
balance to his wife, or
(c) did he give his wife a fixed
amount, and
(d) did he contribute to any
other member of t he
family?
8. What was t he cost of
household overheads, such as
rent, rates, light, heat, fuel,
TV, etc. at the date of death?
9. Who paid the overheads?
10. Did deceased run a car? If so,
what was the cost of running
that car, and who paid for it?
Can deceased's wife drive?
11. Did deceased provide services
in and around the home which
are not now being provided?
This would cover such items
as growing vegetables, cut-
ting turf, painting, decorating
etc? What was the value of
these services at the time of
death?
12. What was deceased's health
before his death? What is the
state of health of his financial
dependants?
13. When would deceased have
retired and what would his
income then have been?
14. Were the children pursuing or
likely to pursue third level
education?
15. What assets did deceased
leave? Please supply a
Schedule of Assets.
16. Did deceased die testate or
intestate?
Bibliography
1.
PROBLEMS IN VALUING
DEATH AND INJURY CLAIMS
by P B Segrave-Daly. Presented to
the Society of Actuaries in Ireland
in March 1974.
2.
ACTUARIAL ASSESSMENT
OF DAMAGES
by J H Prevett. Published in JIA
Vol 94 Part III.
3.
THE ACTUARY IN DAMAGES
CASES - EXPERTWITNESSOR
COURT ASTROLOGER?
by Robert Owen and Philip Shier.
Presented to the Institute of
Actuaries Student Society in
March 1985.
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