A Court of Session Judge has further clarified the application of the Damages (Scotland) Act 2011 in awarding the grandchildren of a man who died in a car accident significant damages.
Russell Stuart sustained fatal injuries after being hit by a car in Aberdeen in May 2011. The claims of Mr Stuart’s widow and three children were settled by the defenders, the driver and her insurance company.
It was however considered by Lord Woolman that the victims grandchildren were also entitled to substantial damages due to their relationship with their grandfather among other factors. This included a grandchild not yet born.
Lord Woolman considered settlement in respect of his three grandchildren: N, aged 5, E aged 3 and H who was born five months after Mr Stuart’s death.
The judge considered the relatively sparse case and decided to award the grandchildren sums significantly higher than those proposed by the defenders.
Lord Woolman described the relationship between the granddaughters and their grandfather, stating that it was at times similar to that of a parent.
Four factors were attributed to Lord Woolman’s decision: the bond of love and affection between them, Mr Stuart’s involvement in their upbringing; the belief that H would have enjoyed a similar relationship and has missed out on this, and also the fact that Mr Stuart’s was expected to live for another 15 years.
Lord Woolman said in his decision;
“I shall make an award of £18,000 in respect of N. She knew her grandfather for the whole of her young life, was significantly affected by his death, and is more conscious of the deprivation of his company. I shall make an award of £16,000 in respect of E, who was very young at the date of death and was not affected by it at the time to the same degree. I shall award £14,000 to H. I accept that he has been deprived of his grandfather’s society and guidance for 15 years. I shall allocate one third of the awards to N and E to the past. As H is still very young, I see no basis for allocating any part of his award to the past.”
The case has given valuable insight into the application of the damages act and has contributed guidance to the kind of awards that might be expected for grandchildren who are close to their parents and in respect of those with a significant life expectancy still ahead of them.
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