FOR AN INJURY

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXIX, Issue 149, 21 June 1934, Page 5

FOR AN INJURY

ARMY .MAN’S CLAIM £llBB DAMAGES AWARDED - . s (Per Press Association.)' "WELLINGTON, Last Night. A petition to His Majesty the King praying for £2OO special damages and £lBOO general damages was brought in the Supreme Court under the Crown Suits Act by a retired Indian Army officer, Lieutenant-Col-onel George Stuart Douglas, C.1.E., for a knee-cap injured in an accident at Rotorua at the end of 1933.

His chief complaint was that he was precluded thereby from receiving a high appointment as military adviser in the States of the Indian. Empire. Liability for the accident was admitted by the the case resolving itself into an assessment of damages after the hearing of medical i

The accident happened on December 18, the car Colonel Douglas was driving colliding with a Government owned motor lorry driven by a Maori. Mr. Justice Ostler was on the bench.

His Honour, after hearing the evidence, said that the chances of Colonel Douglas receiving an appointment as military adviser to a native State were so remote that they ought to be ignored by the Court in assessing damages. £lBB special damages had been admitted, and in addition Colonel Douglas was entitled to a reasonable sum for the pain and suffering he had undergone, which he would allow at £2OO, plus a further £5O for medical expenses likely to be incurred in the future. He had suffered very severe injury to his knee joint, and all medical witnesses were of the opinion that there was a possibility that the knee would develop an arthritic condition, which would prevent him following his usual outdoor life. He would therefore award £750 general damages, making a total of £llBB 17/3..