Periodical payments awards and the transfer of risk

Abstract

The traditional method of compensation for a future continuing loss in UK tort law has always been by means of a lump-sum payment.¹ The lump sum is calculated by means of a simple formula in which a net annual sum (the multiplicand) is multiplied by a factor (the multiplier) that takes into account early receipt by a rate of discount periodically set by the Lord Chancellor (at 2.5 percent since June 2001). The resulting sum provides a ‘rough and ready’ estimate of the capital sum that, if invested to achieve a real net rate of return of 2.5 percent, will fund the estimated annual loss over the expected period of that loss. The operation of this formula in the calculation of damages for loss of future earnings was demonstrated in previous chapters (4) and (5) of this volume.

Citation

Cropper, R. and Wass, V. (2009), "Periodical payments awards and the transfer of risk", Ward, J.O. and Thornton, R.J. (Ed.) Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Damages Calculations: Transatlantic Dialogue (Contemporary Studies in Economic and Financial Analysis, Vol. 91), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 159-191. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1569-3759(2009)0000091010