News

Man Managed to Sue Driver Who Knocked Him Down for More Than $2 Million

2021-11-26 , 10:12 am

Your life can change in the blink of an eye, and sometimes, it might not even be your fault.

That was what happened to Muhammad Adam Muhammad Lee back in 2015.

What Happened

On 3 Apr 2015, Adam was on a footpath along Hougang Ave 2. While he was outside Hougang Stadium, he met with a traffic accident; a car mounted the kerb and knocked him down, resulting in horrific injuries.

This includes:

Multiple skull fractures
Bleeding in the brain
Facial fractures
A leg fracture

For his injuries, Adam has to stay in the hospital for four and a half months where he underwent various procedures.

Life-Changing Accident

Now, if Adam had completely recovered from the accident, that would’ve been fine.

But according to his family, Adam was unable to resume his normal life after the accident.

He had to deal with severe and permanent injuries and is mentally incapacitated.

Adam was supposed to start a computer engineering diploma course but that was taken away from him by the accident.

He tried to resume his studies twice—once in 2017 and once in 2020; for both times, he couldn’t cope and had to drop out.

Adam is also not able to hold jobs anymore; his sister said he tried to work at a bubble tea shop back in 2017 but was told to leave after three days after being deemed “too slow”.

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He was also diagnosed with major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder; and reportedly has violent episodes against family members due to traumatic brain injury.

Ability To Carry Out Tasks Fundamental For Independent Living Affected

According to a psychiatrist report, Adam is not able to carry out tasks for independent living.

He can bath and eat, the report pointed out.

However, he cannot handle sums of money more than S$100, hold a job, or manage cooking, healthcare and ensuring his personal safety.

Awarded More Than S$2 Million In Damages

On 24 Nov 2021, more than five years after the accident, there is finally a conclusion to the lawsuit bought against the driver by his mother and elder sister.

In total, the judge awarded them more than S$2 million in damages against the driver, which is covered by his insurers.

This includes:

S$1 million for the loss of future earnings
S$216,000 for the traumatic brain injury he’s suffered
S$370,800 for a future full-time domestic helper
S$10,000 for the loss of marriage prospects
$237,448.03 for medical expenses
$21,739.84 for caregiver fees
$1,219.55 for loss of polytechnic fees

It was revealed that the driver’s insurer had hired Private Investigators (PI) to take videos of Adam, which the family had tried to sue for.

However, the judge felt that it was “not uncommon” for insurance companies to do so for claimants who claim permanent injuries “as a result of negligence”.

Adam’s family had also initially claimed S$2.27 million for the loss of future earnings, given how he would attend polytechnic, then move on to university before getting a job.

Again, this was disputed as the judge felt that there was not enough evidence to show that Adam would’ve gone on to get an engineering degree if the accident hasn’t taken place.

Before closing the case, the judge commended Adam’s “remarkable” tenacity in trying to get back to his pre-accident state and hopes the accident and its consequences will not define his life.