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Car driver who caused bus to brake abruptly, injuring passenger, ordered to pay S$78,000
SINGAPORE: A man injured his lower back, spine and shoulder when he was flung to the floor of a public bus which braked when a car cut into its lane.
He sued the car driver for negligence and was awarded damages of S$78,444 (US$58,600), according to a judgment made available on Wednesday (Nov 13).
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The claimant, Mr Tan Yu Hong, was on the bus in September 2019 when the car driver, Mr Lek Meng Peau, abruptly encroached into the lane of the bus.
The bus driver braked suddenly, causing Mr Tan to be flung to the floor.
Mr Tan suffered injuries to his lower back, cervical spine and left shoulder. While the pain in his back and spine went away after treatment, the pain and discomfort in his left shoulder persisted.
He had suffered a tear in the tissue around the shoulder socket and a paralabral cyst, or swelling around the socket of the shoulder joint.
Mr Tan then sued Mr Lek for damages such as future medical expenses for his shoulder surgery and loss of income.
Before the trial began, both sides reached an agreement on several issues, including that Mr Lek was 90 per cent responsible for the accident, and that he had breached his duty of care.
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entitled to future medical expenses surrounding his shoulder injury, as he had deferred surgery and was hesitant to undergo it.
This was because he was concerned about a possible adverse reaction to the anaesthesia required, as he had suffered a bad reaction to it in other treatments linked to the accident, being unable to move the muscles below his neck.
Mr Tan sought S$105,500 for future medical expenses if he underwent the shoulder surgery should his condition worsen.
Mr Lek's lawyers argued that Mr Tan should not be awarded the sum for future medical expenses, because of the "low possibility" that he would undergo the surgery.
Medical experts from both men had agreed that Mr Tan's current condition was enough to require surgery, b
