Law of Damages - Factual Scenario 2017 Semester 2 (Delictual Damages)

On the morning of Friday the 19^th May 2017 Shaun McFeast (of 12 Bergrivier drive, Kempton Park) assaulted his fiancé Ursula McLeod (of 72 Oranjerivier drive, Kempton Park) out of jealousy with the intent to cause her grievous bodily harm. He slapped her across the face and pushed her down the stairs. Ursula broke her arm and seriously injured her back. Shaun left her in pain and rushed out of her apartment into the parking lot of the complex. He jumped into his modified Fast and Furious Ford Ranger Wild-track and took off like a man in a hurry.  

Still seething from the anger of what he termed inappropriate conduct by her fiancé, Shaun’s mind was not on the wheel. This is so because he drove through a red robot at the corner of Kwartel Road and Mooifontein road and crashed into James Brown’s small Kia Picanto on the left hand side. Shaun’s negligent driving was the sole cause of the accident. Shaun’s 4x4 only had minor damage, but James’s vehicle was a complete write off due to the impact. Both motor vehicles were insured against damage.

At the time of impact, James had his safety belt on and as a result only suffered minor bruises. He was hospitalized at the Arwyp private hospital and was treated for shock and the minor bruises. James was released from hospital on the morning of Sunday the 21^st May 2017.

James’s pregnant wife, Tiffany, and their 5-year-old daughter, Angelique, both sitting on the left hand side in the vehicle, were seriously injured in the motor vehicle accident. Tiffany, 8 months into her pregnancy, was also wearing a safety belt and went into labour due to the accident. Young Matilda was born a few hours later, but her mother sadly died on Saturday morning, 20 May 2017, due to severe loss of blood. Matilda was born with deformities due to the motor vehicle accident and will need special care for the rest of her life.

At the time of impact, Angelique, who usually sits in her little baby seat at the back, had just loosed her safety belt to pick up some sweets that fell on the car seat. Unfortunately, she broke her left leg and her right shoulder in the accident. She had to undergo three operations to correct the fracture in her left leg. She will walk with difficulty for the rest of her life and her mobility has been affected by her injuries.

A month on from the tragic accident that claimed his wife’s life and left his two daughters with physical hardships, James suffered post-traumatic stress and had to receive psychiatric treatment for 12 months.

James had indemnity insurance to cover the damage to his vehicle, but because he was retrenched 3 months before the accident, he decided to cancel his full medical aid insurance and only had a hospital plan to cover the family at the time of the accident. Tiffany was a partner in a successful architect firm and James was the beneficiary of life insurance cover over her life (Tiffany) to the value of R10m. James sold the shares Tiffany held in the architect firm for R5m.