SINGAPORE: A passenger who was flung forward and injured after her taxi driver got into an accident sued the cabby for damages.
In a judgment made available on Thursday (Jul 27), a district court awarded Ms Ng Xin Ni about S$330,500 in total damages.
The accident had left her with back pain, but this progressed over the years to complaints of pain in various parts of her body including her hip, wrist, ankle and foot.
The judge noted that Ms Ng had “exaggerated the extent of her injuries by a large degree” and that much of her income loss was caused by her own decision to remain unemployed or underemployed.
THE ACCIDENT
Ms Ng was in a taxi driven by Mr Seah Meow Meng on Dec 24, 2011 when they got into an accident.
Ms Ng, who was sitting at the back without a seatbelt on, was flung forward and injured herself. She was taken to Changi General Hospital by ambulance and discharged after initially feeling that her lower back pain was much better.
However, she returned to the hospital a few weeks later saying she had been suffering back pain since the traffic accident.
In February 2012, Ms Ng went to Gleneagles Medical Centre, complaining of persistent back pain, with occasional neck pain and numbness in both hands.
However, X-rays did not show any fracture nor loss of power or sensation in her limbs.
The doctor found that Ms Ng had suffered from whiplash and a prolapsed spinal disc and gave her injections with physiotherapy recommended.
Ms Ng went for physiotherapy but reported little progress, continuing to report symptoms of numbness in her arm and burning sensation in her legs.
She continued to see other doctors for ankle and wrist pain and received acupuncture, but her back problem did not improve.
Ms Ng claimed that her symptoms had worsened over the years and went for an operation for her spinal problems in 2019.
According to Ms Ng, the accident caused her significant pain and suffering, stifled her career progression and continues to limit her job opportunities.
However, Magistrate Lewis Tan said that the extent of her injuries was “greatly exaggerated”, with many of the injuries she purportedly suffered after the accident bearing no causal link to the accident.
He dismissed Ms Ng’s claims for her wrist, ankle and foot injuries, saying they were not caused by the accident.
Even though Ms Ng had reported feeling “debilitating” pain in various parts of her body over the years visiting a particular doctor, clinical examinations were generally positive, said the magistrate.
A private investigator also showed surveillance footage of Ms Ng walking well in sandals with her dog in November 2021. She was able to bend down to pick up her dog’s faeces from the ground, and although she carried a crutch with her, she did not appear to rely on it much.
Among other claims, Ms Ng asked for S$12,985 for transport expenses. The magistrate noted that she had made about 237 round trips to hospitals and clinics for her medical needs.
He awarded her S$7,110 instead, using a “conservative estimate” at S$30 per round trip.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Ms Ng told one of her doctors in 2020 that she had not been able to work since the 2011 accident.
However, the court noted that Ms Ng’s employment history contradicted this.
She worked full-time for Federal Express Pacific from June 2012 to September 2012, earning S$1,650 monthly until she was terminated.
In November 2012, she began working for Raffles Medical Group earning S$1,600 a month, but resigned in April 2013. After this, she worked for her family’s automobile service business until the business was sold in 2017.
Ms Ng was also able to study and obtain certifications – she began pursuing a diploma in business administration less than two weeks after the accident.
She eventually stopped pursuing the diploma as she could not pass a test, but said she performed poorly due to the pain medication for her back which made her “sleepy and dull during classes”.
The magistrate noted, however, that Ms Ng was able to work for Fed-Ex and Raffles Medical while pursuing this diploma.
From July 2014 to July 2016, Ms Ng studied for and obtained a diploma in information technology. In 2017, she completed a module in engineering graphics, before obtaining a certificate in business analysis from a polytechnic.
Ms Ng claimed that she suffered loss of earnings of S$242,750 before the trial. She said she could have worked as a bartender earning at least S$2,500 to S$3,000 per month, if not for the accident.
Instead, she has made only about S$85,200 since the accident.
HER CAFE DREAM
Ms Ng said she intended to work in the food and beverage industry, with a dream to own her own cafe or restaurant. She had obtained certificates for bartending to pursue this dream, but was unable to become a bartender because of her injuries and frequent medical leave.
Therefore, she pivoted to obtaining diplomas. Even when she managed to secure full-time jobs paying her between S$1,600 and S$1,650 a month, she was unable to hold these jobs because of her body pains, she claimed.
She could only work for her family’s business for S$1,500 a month. She claimed that she was unable to find a job after the family business was sold, until she was employed by payments company Cherry Technology Solutions in August 2022. She earned S$2,600 per month as an executive assistant.
The magistrate said Ms Ng’s injuries were not so debilitating as to render her unable to work. He said her unemployment after her family business was sold “appears to be rooted in her voluntary decision to reject any employment opportunity that she most likely received”.
She did not tender any evidence to show that she was unable to obtain a job because of her injuries.
He awarded her S$15,600 in total for pre-trial loss of income, comprising just six months’ salary for the period after her spinal surgery.
LOSS OF FUTURE EARNINGS
Ms Ng also sought S$248,724 for her loss of future earnings, but the court said there is “serious doubt as to whether her salary is indeed lower than what she could have earned”.
“At best, the evidence only goes so far to show that the plaintiff could have obtained a better salaried job, whether as an executive assistant or otherwise,” said the magistrate.
“However, there is insufficient evidence to establish a causal link between her alleged shortfall in salary to her injuries and pain due to the accident,” he said.
He said such a shortfall may be better explained by her voluntary decision to be underemployed and not use her skills in IT despite her qualifications.
It could also be because she believes that she needs a flexible working arrangement that allows her to work from home or her inability to market her skillsets to employers, he said.
He dismissed Ms Ng’s claim for loss of future earnings.
In total, he ordered the taxi driver to pay Ms Ng general damages of S$99,200 and special damages of S$231,272.45.