Kaliati v I. Conforzi (T&T) Estates Ltd (Civil Cause 1362 of 1993) [1993] MWHCCiv 39 (21 December 1993)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF MALAW I PRINC IPAL REGISTRY CIVIL CAUSE NUMBER 1362 OF 1 993 BE TWEEN: LUKA KALIATI and I. CO NFORZI ESTATES LIMITF,D T & T ) P LAINTIFF DE FEND ANT Co ra m: D F MWAUNGULU, RE GIS TRAR Mw a fulirwa , Counsel for the Plaintiff tl rs . Ndalama , Cou r t Int e rpr etter ORDER On the 8th of Octo be r , 199 3 , the plaintiff took out this in juries. a ct ion claim in g general d amages for persona l He was the defe ndan t's tea estate. He was on the trac t or when the pile of firewood loosened. Part of th e pil e fel l on his leg , injuring him in the process. i.njured when collecting firewood at He did not sus t ain any fra c tures. spr ain and i nju ry to soft tissue. t hree weeks. He h a d cut wounds, a He was in h osp ital for t ol d not to After he was released fr o m hospital, he was put o n shoes for som e time. At the time of trial he sti ll fe els some pain . He takes anagelsics f rom time to ti me . He ca nnot walk for l o ng distan c e . If h e does, he spe nd s sleepless nights. Jud gment was obta ined by clefaul t of ple ading s. Hr. tlwa fulirwa, a pp ear ing for the pl a intiff, was th e first to co nced e that t hi s case was unlike the man y that we In this case the i njuries h a ve h ad to co nsider lately. were not fr ac tures to bones. When h e said, how e ver, that this was t h e first case of the sort of injur ies, j njuries i n v o 1 v i n g c u t s and b r u i s e s , i-1 e have h ad a co upl e in the p ast two years. Mr . Hwa fulirwA al so co n c eded that t h ere is no permanent incapa city in t o work . th e se n se that t h e plainti ff will still be a bl e I d i d no t q u i t e a g r e e . 2 I , . .. . - 2 - The injur i es have no effect on his futur e ear n ings or ear ning capacity. th erefo r e, only ent itled to non-pecuniary losses. The plaintiff is, He The plaintiff is only entitled to damage s for p ain and suf fering. The injuries have no effect o n his p ursuits of leis ur e and entertainment. is no t, the refore, ent itled to loss of amenities. The plain tiff, h owever, wen t throogh considerable pain. He was ho spita l ised for There is still considerab le pa in at the thr ee weeks. mom ent. p ain and It cannot be known for how long th is will suf fering. con t i nue. My view is that, given the natur e of the in j uries, the pain and suffering will not last ve ry long. I a warded the pla inti ff K3 ,000 gener a l d amages on the 17t h of December, 1993. is prospective or fut ure There Cos ts on subordinate c our t scale. Ma d e in Chambers this 21st day of Decembe r, 19 9 3. ( D REGISTRA -waungulu - · F THE HIGH COURT