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A 26-year-old Singaporean man who lost a kidney in a car accident eight years ago has been awarded S$356,153 in his claim against the driver.

Asher David De Laure, a polytechnic student at the time, was left with multiple fractures, massive scars, and one kidney short after the accident in September 2015.

What is the price of a dream?

In a judgment made publicly available on Apr. 27, 2023, deputy registrar Kim Bum Soo who presided over the case, started with a question: “What is the price of a dream?”

“Consider a young man with a life ahead of him and dreams to boot. He was (and still is) young… But he cannot articulate that loss in the law’s language, much less provide evidence of the sort that the law may demand. How does the law provide a remedy, if at all? How would the loss of a dream be priced, if priced at all?”

Graduated a year later & could only work for less paying job

De Laure told the court that he completed his polytechnic education even after suffering the “multiple, horrific injuries” which required extensive surgical intervention.

However, he could only graduate a year later than his peers.

He managed to find his first job out of school but couldn’t continue as it was too physically taxing due to his injuries. He had to find a new job and take a pay cut from a monthly salary of S$3,500 to S$2,400.

At his new job, he continued to experience difficulty handling the physical aspects of his work due to his injuries.

S$205k for pain and suffering

Kim awarded S$205,500 to De Laure for the pain and suffering from the accident, as well as loss of earning capacity.

De Laure’s injuries, scars and post-traumatic disorder were also taken into consideration.

"Shattered right kidney"

De Laure suffered a shattered right kidney, amongst other injuries near his abdomen, such as massive blood loss, which required extensive treatment and, ultimately, the removal of one kidney.

His recovery was also complicated as he developed rhabdomyolysis (rapid muscle breakdown) and suffered from acute renal failure.

Other injuries arising from the accident include liver lacerations, diaphragm and vocal cord injuries, fluid buildup in his right lung, undisplaced fractures in his right arm and spine, and lacerations of his right arm and left shin.

PTSD & 20 scars as long as 30cm

De Laure's post-traumatic disorder was assessed to be “moderate”.

The accident also left 20 scars ranging in length from 1cm to 30cm on his body, rated by a plastic surgeon to be “25 per cent of whole-body impairment”.

Kim pointed out that De Laure was a young, 19-year-old man at the time of the incident. Because of that, he will have to live longer with the long-term medical consequences of some of his injuries, resulting in greater suffering.

He highlighted that De Laure would have to make lifestyle adjustments for this kidney injury, cope with constant pain from surgical implants in his right wrist, experence restricted motion of his right ankle and deal with the “unsightliness of the multiple scars on his body”.

The other parts of the claim include losses that De Laure had incurred from the accident, such as medical expenses, transport expenses, loss of income etc.

Claims dreams of being a pilot or soldier dashed

Kim also awarded damages for future medical expenses and loss of future earning capacity.

For the loss of future earning capacity, De Laure claimed he ”lost dreams of being a pilot or a soldier”.

Kim pointed out that it’s “more akin to a claim for loss of a chance at becoming a pilot/soldier”, which is saying “an alternate future has been snatched from him”.

Says he joined NCC and wanted to study Aviation Management to be a pilot

However, Kim said this would mean that the court has to assess if the chance lost was “real or substantial”.

He highlighted that De Laure graduated with a Diploma in Engineering Systems and Management and was training to be an engineer.

After assessing his academic transcripts, the deputy registrar thought that De Laure was “an average student studying to be an engineer” and “would have found employment as an engineer, accident or not”.

De Laure explained that he “never harboured particular ambitions to be an engineer” and “always wanted to be a soldier or a pilot” and hence “joined the National Cadet Corps” for that reason. He also claimed that he had hoped to “groom by studying Aviation Management”, which he gave up studying for after the accident.

Awarded loss of future earning capacity for "competitive disadvantage"

The deputy registrar says he had no difficulties accepting that De Laure wanted to be a soldier or a pilot and that he will never be one after the accident, but he cannot see how he could have even qualified for the jobs in the first place.

However, Kim awarded De Laure S$70,000 for the loss of future earning capacity.

Kim explained it is still clear that due to the injuries, De Laure has suffered a competitive disadvantage "in that the portfolio of work that he can reasonably handle" placed "at a disadvantage in the open employment market".

Top image via Unsplash