Facts
Ms. Q., born in 1942 and partially disabled since 1955 following a first accident, was again the victim of a traffic accident on June 17, 1978. The court of first instance ordered the liability insurance of the negligent driver to pay Ms. Q. a total of CHF 255,514.30 in compensation for the damage and moral harm. In the appeal proceedings initiated by both parties, the Court of Appeal of the Canton of Basel-Stadt recognized an entitlement to compensation of CHF 409,809, broken down as follows: CHF 227,700 for loss of earnings, CHF 139,030 for household assistance, CHF 60,836 for therapy costs (these amounts being reduced by 10% due to the victim's fault) and CHF 25,000 for moral harm.
Considerations
The FSCA considers that the damage must be calculated concretely, starting from the abstract degree of disability to deduce the effects on earning capacity. When a partially disabled person suffers a second accident, it is necessary to examine to what extent their earning capacity has been reduced by the second accident and what income they would have been able to generate within the reduced capacity caused by the first accident. The person responsible for the second accident can thus be held liable for repairing the damage caused by the aggravation of the pre-existing disability.
Regarding the calculation of compensation for loss of earnings, the FSCA considers that the insurance must compensate for the loss of…