Murugasu, Euan v Singapore Airlines Ltd

• Judge: Judith Prakash J
• Judgment Date: 17 June 2004
• Neutral Citation: [2004] SGHC 132
• Defendant Counsel: Adeline Chong (Harry Elias Partnership)
• Year: 2004
• Subject Matter: Assessment,Quantum,Whether assistant registrar accurately assessed damages,Damages,Whether selected multiplier and multiplicand inaccurate,Whether quantum of damages inflated
• Citation: [2004] SGHC 132
• Plaintiff Counsel: Renuka Chettiar (Karuppan Chettiar and Partners)
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Published date: 21 June 2004

17 June 2004 Judgment reserved.

Judith Prakash J:

Introduction

1 This is an appeal against an assessment of damages by the assistant registrar. On 28 May 2000, the plaintiff, Dr Euan Murugasu, met with an accident whilst on board an aircraft belonging to the defendant, Singapore Airlines Limited. The defendant conceded liability for the accident and interlocutory judgment was entered for the plaintiff. Upon the assessment of damages, the assistant registrar made the following awards:

(a) pain and suffering:		$16,000.00
(b) pre-trial loss of earnings:		$52,000.00
(c) cost of future medical treatment:		$25,000.00
(d) loss of future earnings:
	(i) $28,600 x 2 years =	$57,200.00
	(ii) $42,000 x 10 years =	$420,000.00
(e) special damages:		$1,613.51
		and US$6,922.10

The defendant was dissatisfied with all but the first and last awards, hence this appeal.

Background

2 At the time of the accident, the plaintiff was 38 years old and was employed by the Tan Tock Seng Hospital (“TTSH”) as a consultant ear, nose and throat (“ENT”) surgeon. By the time of the assessment hearing, he had given up medical practice and was employed by the Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR) as a principal investigator at the Institute of Bio-Engineering.

3 The plaintiff is a very highly qualified man. He obtained his MBBS degree from the National University of Singapore in 1986 and went on to do post-graduate courses in otolaryngology in Scotland, England and Singapore. In 1996, he obtained a doctorate in auditory physiology and molecular biology. In 1998 and 1999, under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Health, he was sent to the UK and the US for the purposes of learning and mastering highly complex surgery in the areas of neurotology and skull base surgery. This sort of surgery, involving as it does micro-surgery in the ear and brain, is very delicate. It requires complete concentration as the operating area is very close to vital areas of the brain-stem, cranial nerves and blood vessels. On the plaintiff’s return from the US in July 1999, he was employed as a consultant surgeon by TTSH.

4 On 28 May 2000, the plaintiff was travelling aboard flight SQ 328 to Manchester via Mumbai. He was asleep in his seat when a passenger who boarded the plane at Mumbai tried to place an oversized suitcase into the overhead compartment above his seat. The suitcase slipped and fell on to the plaintiff’s head and back. He felt a sharp pain in his neck and developed headache and double vision. This was the start of severe medical problems for the plaintiff.

5 At the assessment, the plaintiff’s position was that he had been permanently injured as a result of the accident and that there was little hope of further recovery. Four specialist doctors gave evidence, three for the plaintiff and one for the defendant. The consensus (of all apart from one) was that his injury could be described as cervical radiculopathy. The fourth doctor considered that the plaintiff had suffered a right upper brachial plexus injury. He thought that this could possibly be co-existing with the cervical radiculopathy.

6 According to the plaintiff, since the accident he has been feeling constant pain in his neck, which becomes acute at times, with some weakness in his right upper arm and intermittent episodes of numbness and tingling in his right arm. At the time of the hearing he had to take painkillers on a daily basis. Despite lengthy and varied types of treatment having been applied up to the date of the hearing, the plaintiff had not recovered from his injury. All the medical experts agreed that his symptoms were unlikely to improve and that they would progressively become worse.

7 The plaintiff testified that the injury had affected his ability to perform surgery. Although he continued to operate thereafter, he experienced much pain and discomfort especially when working with the operating microscope. After the injury he found it difficult to operate for long hours. When he had to operate with the microscope he had to fix his neck and head position in order to get an optimal view of the surgical field. After an hour he would be in pain and after two hours the pain and spasms experienced would increase to an intolerable extent. He was advised to take frequent breaks when he operated so as to obtain some relief from the pain. This, however, was not feasible in major operations which sometimes lasted between six and 12 hours, if not longer.

8 The plaintiff feared that the pain and spasms he experienced would affect his surgical skills during operations. This would pose a risk to those patients on whom he operated near crucial areas such as the brain-stem. It was for this reason that he decided to give up surgery and work instead as a researcher with the Institute of Bio-Engineering. Even after taking up his new position, the plaintiff found that his neck still gave him considerable pain and discomfort when he worked. As a researcher he still had to use the operating microscope often and this involved bending his neck to get a good view, after which he would experience a sharp pain on the right side of his neck. Occasionally he also experienced painful cramps on the right side of his neck and shoulder muscles. He often had to take short breaks in order not to aggravate the symptoms.

The appeal

Pre-trial loss of earnings

9 The assistant registrar rejected the defendant’s submission that the plaintiff was not entitled to claim pre-trial loss of earnings because he had failed to demonstrate that he was compelled to leave his employment at TTSH on account of his...