"... There is no denying that the calculation of the amount of compensation due to the injured parties, as a whole, relies quite a bit on probabilities and conjectures, whether in relation to the determination of future earnings losses, the cost of medical services, the assessment of bodily injuries and the ways in which they will become more sophisticated over the years, and so on. The limited ability to predict with maximum accuracy what the future holds for the purpose of calculating damages in the various heads of damages, and in particular the difficulty of doing so within the framework of calculations of loss of earning capacity, referred to Justice M. Cheshin when he said that:
"In calculating compensation for loss of earning capacity in the days to come, we look as if we were walking in Alice's Wonderland, a land where guesses and conjectures are facts, and hopes and wishes are reality. We have been tasked with revealing the secrets of the future - a future that will be and a future that will not be - and we are neither prophets nor the sons of prophets" (Civil Appeal 2061/90 Marzli v. State of Israel, Ministry of Education and Culture, IsrSC 47(1) 802, 822 (1993))."
- After taking into account the plaintiff's data and the fact that she does not have a defined profession, the nature of the injury and the limitations caused to her as a result of the accident, her limitations due to her hearing impairment and the difficulty in coping with them, as well as her employment history, her current place of work and the number of years she has left until retirement age, taking into account all the data, I found it appropriate to award the plaintiff global compensation in the total amount of ILS 125,000. This reflects about half of the actuarial calculation (the capitalization rate is rounded to 185), according to functional disability and the salary base, including the pension component of 12.5%.
Helping others
- The plaintiff claims that at the time of the accident she was independent, moved freely and carried out household duties and maintenance herself and without any restrictions. Following the accident, the plaintiff has difficulty performing daily activities related to the management of the household, and therefore she needs the assistance of her immediate family, as is evident from the testimony of her mother and the testimony of her neighbor. The help that the plaintiff received during the recovery period and the help she receives today exceeds regular help, and she will need a lot of help in the future as well.
The plaintiff's testimony was supported by the testimony of her mother and the testimony of the neighbor, from which it appears that most of the help the plaintiff needed was during the recovery period for several months after the accident.