A third-year university student who was crippled by a road accident has been awarded Sh24.4 million as compensation.
Appeal judges Justices Martha Koome, Daniel Musinga and Agnes Murgor reduced the award given to Brian Waihenya from Sh28 million to Sh24.4 million.
He had been awarded by the high court Sh28 million.
Waihenya sued Jubilee Haulers Limited’s Vipul Patel and David Kemei.
On February 8 2014 Waihenya, a third-year student at Jomo Kenyatta University was travelling from Nakuru heading to Mang’u farm in Rongai.
A few kilometres from Nakuru he saw an oncoming lorry that was pulling a trailer which was being driven in a zigzag manner.
The vehicle he was in collided with the oncoming lorry and as a result, he sustained severe injuries.
He sued the owners and driver of the lorry.
In his suit, he said the lorry was being driven negligently.
The lorry driver was accused of driving at high speed, driving without due care and attention for other road users which led to the accident.
As a result of the accident, he suffered a spinal injury and got a wound on the scalp.
He became paraplegic with a 100 per cent disability.
His studies too were curtailed due to the injuries and he asked the court to compensate him for that.
The young man among other things requires a wheelchair and a replacement every two years, future medical care including services of a nurse aid at a salary of Sh12,000 per month.
The three defendants denied the allegations.
Jubilee Hauler denied that it was the owner of the lorry and the trailer, Patel said he was not a co-owner and Kemei said he was not the driver of the lorry.
They denied even the occurrence of the accident. And if the accident indeed occurred, they said, it was contributed to by the vehicle Brian was travelling in.
He won the case at the high court and was awarded Sh8 million as general damage, Sh7 million as damage for loss of earning capacity, Sh3.9 million for nurse aid, Sh4.3 million for future medical expenses, Sh3.9 million for medical equipment, Sh250,000 for the electric chair, Sh350,000 for electric bed and Sh885,884 as special damages.
In total, he was given Sh28.9 million.
Aggrieved by that decision the company and two appealed.
They said it was wrong of the High Court to find them 100 per cent liable and making speculative awards on the loss of capacity to earn.
The appeal judges noted that the High Court judge took the correct view of the matter and cannot be faulted.
“The sum of Sh7,200,000 for loss of earning capacity was reasonable and we shall not disturb it,” said the appeal judges.
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