Dr Felix Chan et al on How Much Is a Leg Worth in Hong Kong? Proposal for Reforming Personal Injury Compensation (HKLJ)

"How Much Is a Leg Worth in Hong Kong? Proposal for Reforming Personal Injury Compensation"
Felix WH Chan, Wai Sum Chan and Johnny SH Li

Hong Kong Law Journal

2020, Vol. 50, Part 3 of 2020, pp. 983-1004

Abstract: This article examines the rationale for and effectiveness of compensation awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary loss in Hong Kong personal injury disputes. Special consideration is given to the assessment of damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA). In addition, the potential use of structured settlements or periodic payment orders (PPOs) as a substitute for (or together with) lump-sum awards is explored. The primary sources of data are the full texts of judgments issued in personal injury cases by the Hong Kong judiciary since 1976. In catastrophic personal injury cases, lump-sum awards hinge on estimates of the claimants' life expectancy and investment returns adjusted for inflation. However, claimants may exhaust their funds by exceeding their projected life expectancy or receiving lower-than-expected investment returns. PPOs provide for regular payments over a claimant's lifetime, adjusted annually based on an inflation index. Reforms focused on PSLA and the use of PPO are recommended.

New Book by Dr Felix Chan et al: Personal Injury Tables Singapore 2021 (Sweet and Maxwell)

Personal Injury Tables Singapore 2021
Dr Wai-sum Chan, 

Dr Felix W.H. Chan, and Dr Johnny S.H. Li
Sweet and Maxwell
Published in March 2021

Book Description: This book contains actuarial tables for use in personal injury and fatal accident cases in Singapore. The value of these tables lies in the scientific basis upon which loss is estimated, and using them is akin to having expert witness evidence to guide the court in its decision.

Key features

• Essential reference information to assist lawyers in determining appropriate compensation levels for losses suffered through personal injury and fatal accident cases.
• Actuarial tables are based on various Life Tables for Singapore Resident Population 1980–2018, published by the Singapore Department of Statistics.
• Clear explanatory notes guide users on the proper and effective use of the tables.
• Adopts life expectancy figures and tables that reflect the proper and true value of money.
• Applies the methodology used in constructing the UK Ogden Tables in the context of unique local circumstances.

Felix Chan et al on a Bayesian Approach to Developing a Stochastic Mortality Model for China (Journal of the Royal Statistical Society (Statistics in Society – Series A))

“A Bayesian Approach to Developing a Stochastic Mortality Model for China”

Johnny Siu-Hang Li, Kenneth Q Zhou, Xiaobai Zhu, Wai-Sum Chan and Felix WH Chan

Journal of the Royal Statistical Society (Statistics in Society – Series A)

2019, Vol 182, Issue 4, pp 1523–1560

Summary: Stochastic mortality models have a wide range of applications. For instance, in Hong Kong and England, multipliers used in the assessment of personal injury compensation are calculated using mortality rates from the most recent projections. However, owing to data-related problems, stochastic modelling of mainland Chinese mortality has not been given adequate attention. Stochastic mortality models are particularly important for analysing Chinese mortality, which is subject to rapid and uncertain changes. In this paper, we attempt to use a Bayesian approach to model the evolution of Chinese mortality over time, taking into account all of the problems associated with the data set. 

New Book: Personal Injury Tables Hong Kong 2019: Tables for the Calculation of Damages, 5th edn ("Chan Tables")

Personal Injury Tables Hong Kong 2019: Tables for the Calculation of Damages, 5th edn

Neville Sarony, Wai-sum Chan, Felix W H Chan, Johnny S H Li

Sweet and Maxwell,
April 2019

Description: Continually cited in Hong Kong Courts as the “Chan Tables”, they are the authoritative and court-approved tables and provide the definitive starting point for all calculations for personal injury compensation claims in Hong Kong.

“I agree that the Chan Tables should be accepted as the starting point in Hong Kong…” 

  Justice Bharwaney, Chan Pak Ting (No.1) [2012] 1 HKCFI 1584; [2013] 1 HKLRD 643

Personal Injury Tables Hong Kong 2019 updates and revises the essential reference information for calculating damages in personal injury and fatal accident cases. The 2019 edition has been fully updated to take into account revised Hong Kong mortality projections by the Census and Statistics Department (Hong Kong Life Tables 2018-2066 and Hong Kong Population Projections 2017–2066), under which there is an increase in life expectancy. 

     Evaluating damages is no longer a time-consuming and challenging task. Its comprehensive contents include Hong Kong actuarial tables for the calculation of: 

• Inflationary rates for adjusting PSLA
• Wage statistics
• Retail price indices

“The quantification of damages in personal injury cases is not an exact science. Indeed Lord Bridge observed that it will never be so, and explained how the common law courts have been “traditionally mistrustful of reliance on actuarial tables”: Hunt v Severs [1994] 2 AC 350, 365. Lord Pearson placed more trust in the experience of practitioners and judges than relying on tables, as otherwise there would be “a false appearance of accuracy and precision in a sphere where conjectural estimates have to play a large part”: Taylor v O ‘Connor [1971] AC 115, 140. 

These days of judicial skepticism against mathematics and actuarial science are bygone.  It is now clear that our very own Chan Tables, much like the Ogden Tables in England, have become an indispensable part and the starting point of our law in this area (Chan Pak Ting v Chan Chi Kuen [2013] 1 HKLRD 634, [32]), and rightly so. As required by modern standards of civil justice, Hong Kong law now demands greater consistency, predictability, and efficiency in all types of cases. This need is particularly felt in personal injuries cases by reason of their very nature. Tables like the present publication assist greatly in achieving this goal. 

It is noteworthy that the Law Reform Commission’s recent consultation on periodical payments for future pecuniary loss could ultimately lead to some interesting changes in this area of law, and, perhaps, the role and the complexity of the future editions of this work. 

Whatever murky waters that may lie ahead, the general editor and the contributors should be congratulated again for their arduous work thus far, and their efforts to keep this valuable work up to date and relevant for practitioners and the courts alike.” 

  Andrew Cheung, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, February 2019

About the Authors: Felix W H Chan is an associate professor in the Faculty of Law, the University of Hong Kong. Neville Sarony QC, SC is a respected and experienced personal injury practitioner in Hong Kong. Wai-Sum Chan is a Professor of Finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Johnny SH Li is a Professor of Actuarial Studies at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and a Professor of Actuarial Science at the University of Waterloo, Canada.

HKU Law Lectures for Practitioners 2016 (28 Oct 2016)

Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong, 

on behalf of Hong Kong Law Journal Ltd

announces

LAW LECTURES FOR PRACTITIONERS 2016

28 October 2016 (Friday) 

11/F Academic Conference Room

Cheng Yu Tung Tower, Centennial Campus

University of Hong Kong

Programme

Morning Session (9:30 am - 12:45 pm)

9:00-9:30 am 

Registration 

9:30-10:30 am 

"Litigation and the Competition Commission" 

Lester Lee of the Competition Commission 

10:30-11:30 am 

"Privacy and Media Intrusion" 

Allan Chiang (former Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data) 

11:30-11:45 am 

Coffee Break 

11:45-12:45 pm 

"Periodical Payment Orders in Personal Injuries for Future Pecuniary Loss" 

Norman Hui of The University of Hong Kong 

12:45-2:00 pm 

Lunch 

Afternoon Session (2:00 pm - 5:15 pm)

2:00-3:00 pm 

"Current Issues on Takeover Regulation" 

Gail Humphryes of The Securities and Futures Commission 

3:00-4:00 pm 

"The HKEX/SFC Joint Consultation on Listing Regulation" 

Syren Johnstone of The University of Hong Kong/Asian Institute of International Financial Law 

4:00-4:15 pm 

Coffee Break 

4:15-5:15 pm 

"Market Misconduct - Recent Developments" 

Nigel Davis of The University of Hong Kong

Fees: Morning Session or Afternoon Session - HK$800 per session. Whole Day - HK$1,400 including lunch. For registration or enquiries please contact Ms Lydia Bute, 10/F, Faculty of Law Building, Centennial Campus, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. Tel: 3917 4323 / Fax: 2559 3543 / Email: lbute@hku.hk.

Felix Chan on Assessing Personal Injury Liabilities in China (Asian J L & Eco)

"Assessing Personal Injury Liabilities in China from National to Provincial Level: An International Comparative Analysis"

Felix WH Chan, Wai-Sum Chan, and Johnny SH Li

Asian Journal of Law and Economics,  (2017) Volume 8, Issue 2, p.1-20

Abstract: In a tort-based legal system, when a party is injured as a consequence of another party’s negligence, the party should be provided with sufficient compensation so that he or she may live as fulfilling a life as possible after the injury. The moral objective underlying this supposition is intuitively appealing. It is not surprising, therefore, that this jurisprudential notion is favourably regarded and widely applied in various common law and civilian jurisdictions, despite differences in tradition and culture. Nonetheless, although the two bodies of law share a similar objective in this respect, there are a number of differences in the substantive content of the law and the configuration of the rules. The present authors argue, and provide empirical evidence to support, that there are signs of convergence as both legal systems are in fact applying the same multiplicand-multiplier approach in assessing the quantum of damages. Case studies in mainland China (concerning civil law) and in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong (regarding common law) are adopted as the research methodology to explore the broader implications of this convergence.

RGC Awards $4 Million in Research Grant Funding to HKU Faculty of Law

The Research Grants Council awarded more than $4 million in funding to seven of the Faculty of Law's General Research Fund projects 2016-2017.  The projects cover a wide range of topics: director and shareholder accountability, competition law, cyberbullying and privacy, med-arb in China, trusts for mentally incapacitated persons, personal injury compensation reform, and regulation of trade in endangered wild animals.  Congratulations to the following colleagues:

• Ernest Lim, Rethinking Directorial and Shareholder Accountability, $352,500.
• Kelvin Kwok (with Thomas Cheng as Co-I), Buyer Power under Competition Law: A Theoretical Examination and a Case Study of Hong Kong, $508,496.
• Anne Cheung, Tackling Cyberbullying by Enhancing Privacy Protection: A Comparative and an Interdisciplinary Study, $1,072,190.
• Gu Weixia (with Anselmo Reyes as Co-I), When Local Meets International: The Delicate Art of Med-Arb in China and Its Prospective Reform in a Comparative Context in Asia, $460,000.
• Rebecca Lee (with Lusina Ho as Co-I), Special Needs Trusts for Mentally Incapacitated Persons in Hong Kong: A Proposed Framework, $825,800.
• Felix Chan, Further Reforms in Hong Kong’s Personal Injury Compensation: An Inquisitive Perspective, $590,500. 
• Amanda Whitfort,  A Comparative Evaluation of Hong Kong's Legislative Powers to Regulate Trade in Endangered Wild Animals, $370,500.

Felix Chan on Using Actuarial Evidence in Tort Cases (HKLJ)

"Using Actuarial Evidence in Singapore and Hong Kong: A Sequel to 'Lai Wee Lian Revisited'"
Felix Chan, Wai Sum Chan and Johnny SH Li
Hong Kong Law Journal
August 2015, Vol. 45, Part 2, pp 499-515

Abstract: Following the English common law, successful claimants in personal injury and clinical negligence cases in Singapore and Hong Kong usually receive their compensations as a lump sum. The amount in respect of future expenses and loss of future earning is a result of discounting the future pecuniary values into a single present-day amount, considering inflation, the time value of money and the claimant’s mortality. Using actuarial tables based on projections of the mortality rate of the general population may be considered as an alternative method in converting the future loss of earnings and future expenses into a lump sum reflecting its present value. For this purpose, a set of actuarial tables are constructed in this article. Various options for determining the appropriate discount rate(s) are explored in the context of the statistical and economic data of Singapore and Hong Kong.  Contact the authors for a copy of the article.