£513 COMPENSATION

Grey River Argus, 31 July 1935, Page 7

£513 COMPENSATION

For Loss of Wife MOTORIST SUED SUCCESSFULLY. Press Association). AUCKLAND, July 29. ihe amount of eouipeuya-iion a husbunu is entitled to foi 'the loss of the services oi nxs wife, ki.led in a col iision with a motor car, formed the subject of a couiewted action at t'he Supreme Court, before Mr Justice rtur and a jury. A claim for £lOOO was brought by W’ihliam Byerly, of Auckland, administrator of the etrtate of his deceased wife, Alice Littleodyke Briefly, against Robert Ernest Hinde. Mrs Briefly was knocked down by defendant’a car in Grey Lynn ou December 10th, 1934, suffering injuries from which she died in hospital two days later. That accident was due to rhe neg igence of the defendant was not disputed, and the point at issue was thc computing of the value of the wife’s services 'to her husband and two children.

Evidence was given by the plaintiff that at the time of his wife’s death he was earning £3 13s 3d a week. He was now employing a housekeeper at a wage of 13s & week. Deceased was insured under an accident policy, and the estate received. £l5O from i»t. She had done all her own housekeeping Further evidence was given as to the deceased’s housekeeping ability, and as to the expectation of life of a woman aged 62, at which deceased died. The expectation according to English insurance tables s.aid Gordon Brice McSkimming, clerk in .t’he Government Life Insurance Department, was 12.89 years. The jury, after three hours’ deiberation awarded plaintiff £513. The foreman stated, that the award was for the father, the jury considering that he would look after the sons’ interests. His Honor, in entering judgment accordingly, said he considered the amount a fair and reasonable estimate of what was required to make good to plaintiff the loss he had sustained by the death of his wife.