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Pokum, an Infant, by Her Next Friend, Pokum Mark v The State [1990] PGNC 49; N899 (3 August 1990)

Unreported National Court Decisions

N899

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

[NATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE]

WS 368 OF 1990
KUMO POKUM AN INFANT BY HER NEXT FRIEND POKUM MARK
-V-
THE STATE

Mount Hagen

Woods J
26 July 1990
3 August 1990

NEGLIGENCE - motor vehicle accident - pedestrian - personal injuries - 4 year old girl - lacerations and abrasions - no permanent injuries - general damages K500 Costs - within District Court Jurisdiction - infant damages must be approved by National Court - National Court costs awarded.

Counsel:

P. Kopunye for the Plaintiff.

No Appearance for the State.

3 August 1990

WOODS J: The Plaintiff Kumum an infn infant is suing by her next friend for damages she received when she was struck by a vehicle owned by the State on the 29th September 1989 on the Minj - Kundiawa section of the Okukway.

The Plaintiff hiff had been a passenger on another vehicle and that vehicle had pulled over to unload passengers and the infant after alighting from the vehicle had run across the road into the path of the oncoming State owned vehicle. The Highways of Papua New Guinea are very busy not only with vehicles but also with pedestrians and passenger carrying vehicles are constantly pulling over to take up and discharge passengers. There is thus always a duty on drivers to take care when approaching areas of the highways and roads where pedestrians are walking or where people are alighting from vehicles. So even in a case like this where a driver may not be criminally responsible where a pedestrian suddenly darts across a road there can still be a civil liability however the court can still apportion the blame. In the circumstances of this case I will apportion liability as 30% to the Plaintiff and 70% to the driver of the State vehicle.

I therefore find the State is liable to 70% for the injuries suffered by the Plaintiff.

The Plaintiff was a 4 year old girl at the time of the accident and suffered minor lacerations to the head and toes and a bruising of the right knee. she was treated at Kudjip Hospital and although there was concern as to whether there may be long term effects from the head injury she appears to have recovered completely.

I must therefore assess damages for minor lacerations and bruising. I find this is similar to the case of Dawa Yomi v The State 1990 N823 where the Plaintiff was awarded K500 for minor abrasions and some bruising.

I award general damages of K500. There is no other loss. I allow interest on the K500 at 8% from the date of the writ to today being K10.40.

I order judgment for K510.40 and order that this money be paid to the Registrar to be invested by him on behalf of Kumo Pokum until she attains the age of 18 years on 16th July 2003.

On Costs this is an action on behalf of an infant and it therefore requires the approval of the National Court in its inherent Jurisdiction over Infants. So even though the claim and Judgment was for an amount under K10,000 and thereby comes within the Jurisdiction of the District Court it had to come to the National Court and I therefore allow costs at the National Court scale.

The Defendant must pay the Plaintiff’s costs on the National Court scale.

Lawyer for the Plaintiff: P. Kopunye

Lawyer for the Defendant: State Solicitor