THE estate of a man who sued the owners and driver of a vehicle which knocked him from his motorbike, causing injury, has been awarded more than $7 million in damages by Jamaica’s Supreme Court.

In handing down the judgment in the man’s favour last month, puisne judge Justice Dale Staple said the injury sustained by the then 22-year-old — who died when he was 25 from matters not related to the motor vehicle crash — “was a very serious one and clearly had a serious effect on his work and social life, even in such a short period of time”.

According to details provided to the court, on or about May 7, 2021 the man named as the third defendant “so negligently drove, managed or controlled a Mazda motor vehicle along the Porus Main Road, causing same to collide with the victim’s motorbike, causing him to be thrown from his bike and sustain injury, suffer loss damages, and incur expenses”.

At all material times the vehicle was owned by a couple who were named as the first and second defendants in the suit.

The injured biker died in 2024 due to matters unrelated to the original collision and injury, making it so that the court had to appoint a substitute claimant in his place.

The biker — who was hospitalised for five months following the collision up to January of 2023 — had complaints of leg pains, occasional muscle contractions to the right thigh, and inability to walk properly. Furthermore, he was unable to return to work as a result of injuries sustained and was also unable to play football, which was his recreational activity.

Justice Staple, in ruling on the claim, said “given that the [the victim] died approximately two years before the assessment and would have suffered for three years before his untimely death” he was minded to award the sum of $6 million for pain and suffering and loss of amenities.

“The first three years of his life post-injury are, in my view, the most acute. Firstly, there is the very difficult recovery phase where he was hospitalised for five months and had to have skin graft as well as orthopaedic procedures to correct his injuries. It is also important to note that he was in the prime of his youth and he would be in the most productive years of his life. The injury was a very serious one and clearly had a serious effect on his work and social life, even in such a short period of time. It would take him some time to get accustomed to this new life and way of being after the recovery period. This can take some time,” Justice Staple said.

According to Justice Staple, “In all the circumstances of this case [he was] of the view that the deceased’s estate should receive a greater portion of the award for this initial period post-injury.”

Justice Staple ordered general damages for pain and suffering and loss of amenities in the sum of $6 million, with interest at three per cent from the 16th December 2023 to the 16th March 2026; and special damages in the sum of just over $1 million with interest at three per cent from the 7th May 2021 to the 16th March 2026.

The biker’s mother, who gave evidence during the proceedings, said her son never fully recovered from his injuries and that his legs did not appear to be normal.

“The left leg was shorter than the right leg and the right leg could not stretch out completely. Both legs were normal before the accident and were not deformed,” she said.

She told the court that her son, following the incident, walked and hopped and could not stand up straight for long.

She said her son, who worked with her and was the one to run down vehicles to secure sales for which she paid him $20,000 weekly, had been unable to do so for a year following the collision and lost wages of just over $1 million.

She said socially he was embarrassed because of his inability to play the sport he liked and “his disabled appearance”.