Background
Our client was riding straight along a bicycle lane when another cyclist entered suddenly from the side and turned left, colliding with our client and causing a thoracic vertebral fracture and permanent disability. The other cyclist was also punished criminally (a summary fine) for violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents (causing injury). Changchun represented the injured party (the plaintiff) in a claim for damages.
The Issue — How Far Will the Scope of Loss Be Recognized?
Liability itself was relatively clear; the key was to prove precisely, on the basis of the medical appraisal, the scope of loss — lost earnings (the reduction in future income) from the permanent disability, medical expenses and consolation money.
How Changchun Helped
Through a medical appraisal, Changchun (attorney Donghwan Shin) established the rate of loss of earning capacity (27% permanent disability) and the working period, and calculated lost earnings, medical expenses, property loss including the bicycle, and consolation money item by item. As the total loss calculated exceeded the amount claimed, our client sought KRW 100 million as an expressly partial claim.
Outcome
The court granted our client's claim in full, ordering payment of KRW 100 million with default interest.
Separately from the criminal punishment of the other party, accidents leaving permanent disability require precise proof of civil loss — lost earnings, consolation money and the rest — to obtain proper compensation. (Outcomes may differ depending on the facts of each matter.)