Future imperfect

Abstract

The drive towards certainty Since the decision of the House of Lords in Wells v Wells, and especially since the publication of the sixth and then seventh editions of the Ogden Tables, there has been a drive towards increasingmathematical certainty in the assessment of damages for future pecuniary losses. One problem with a strict application of the mathematical approach is that such an approach will often lead to a result which appears on the face of it to be too generous—or not generous enough—in any given case. The struggles of the respective judges in Reaney and Billett illustrate the difficulties inherent in a strict application of the multipliers in the Ogden Tables but also demonstrate the difficulty in straying from the path marked out by the Tables.