Wallace v The County Council of the County of Limerick

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Court: Circuit Court
• Judgment Date: 01 January 1920
• Date: 01 January 1920

Cir. Cas.,

Wallace

and

The County Council of the County of Limerick

Police sergeant - Compensation - Basis of assessment - Area of levy.

In an application by a widow under the Criminal Injuries (Ireland) Act, 1919, for compensation for the murder of her husband, a sergeant in the Royal Irish Constabulary, it appeared that deceased's pay was £279 10s. 0d. There were no children, and the widow, aged forty-seven, was his sole dependant:—Held, that while no exact principle can be laid down for the assessment of compensation, the assessment of the sum which would purchase a life annuity for the widow sufficient to maintain her in the same degree of comfort that she had enjoyed during her husband's life is a relevant element, the consideration of which, with the other circumstances, tends to a just and reasonable assessment. Held also, the normal...