Lai Wee Lian Revisited - Should Actuarial Tables Be Used for the Assessment of Damages in Personal Injury Litigation in Singapore? Wells V Wells

Abstract

Conventionally, the Singapore Courts follow the English authorities in choosing multipliers in personal injury litigation. Most judges select the multiplier by reference to a spread of multipliers in comparable cases from England and Singapore. The House of Lords in England recently made a significant decision in Wells v Wells. It approved actuarial evidence as the primary method of assessing future pecuniary loss. Although the courts in Singapore are not bound by this decision of the House of Lords, it is anticipated that the conventional method of choosing multipliers in Singapore will now be hotly contested. This case commentary comments on the legal and practical implications of Wells v Wells in Singapore.