Driver injured in crash involving bus awarded $17k after suing SMRT Buses for $5m

A driver who sued SMRT Buses for more than $5 million in damages following an accident was awarded $17,373.16 after a judge found that her neck injuries were not caused by it.

Judicial Commissioner Alex Wong, in a judgment dated Jan 20, noted that Ms Lee Sim Leng’s injuries were the result of cervical spondylosis, a pre-existing degenerative disease that affected her neck.

He said the existence of the condition was brought to her attention by the accident.

Ms Lee, who was 51 years old when the accident happened on Aug 26, 2013, had suffered whiplash after an SMRT bus collided with her car in Bukit Batok Central.

Although she was injured, she indicated that she did not require an ambulance after the collision.

The judicial commissioner said that while he disagreed with Ms Lee’s position that the accident was the cause of her neck condition, he accepted that she genuinely believed this to be the case.

In his judgment, the judge criticised SMRT Buses’ depiction of Ms Lee as an opportunist.

He said: “I did not find the defendant’s characterisation of the claimant as a liar and profiteer to be helpful or justified.

“The plaintiff is clearly suffering from major depressive disorder and has been so suffering for decades before the accident.”

Ms Lee, who was represented by Mr Wee Jee Kin and Mr Joseph Goh Chye Hock from JK Law Chambers, had sought a total of $4,202,561.55 in general damages and $1,273,608.12 in special damages. 

She claimed damages for pain and suffering as a result of her neck injuries, and major depressive disorder.

Ms Lee also sued for medical expenses, loss of earning capacity and future increases in flight expenses.

She said she needed to travel by business class as a result of her inability to sit for prolonged periods of time without feeling pain and discomfort.

In her submissions, Ms Lee said she suffered several injuries to her neck owing to her accident, including a narrowed spinal canal and the buckling of the ligaments on the back of her spinal cord.

She said it necessitated various surgical operations, and caused her to suffer pain.

Ms Lee also said the constant pain caused by her neck injuries had aggravated her existing major depressive disorder.

SMRT Buses, represented by Mr Anthony Wee and Mr Fendrick Koh Keh Jang from Titanium Law Chambers LLC, argued that none of the injuries was caused by the accident.

They said the injuries were the result of cervical spondylosis, a pre-existing condition.

The bus operator’s legal team submitted that damages for Ms Lee’s pain and suffering should be limited to a Grade 2 whiplash injury that resulted in the aggravation of her pre-existing cervical spondylosis.

The team said Ms Lee already had major depressive disorder prior to the accident, and that she had reported that her marital discord was her main stressor for her depressive mood.

The team added that her experience of pain could have been the result of compensation neurosis, which refers to psychological reactions that occur after an accident.

The judicial commissioner rejected SMRT Buses’ claim on compensation neurosis.

He said that while Ms Lee’s depressive mood was exacerbated by the accident, it was also influenced by her tumultuous marriage and her worries over a surgical operation she underwent in 2019, which was necessitated by her pre-existing condition.

He agreed with a neurologist, whose report SMRT Buses had relied on, that it was more likely that Ms Lee’s neck injuries were a result of her pre-existing condition, which she learnt about as a result of the accident.

The judge noted that her symptoms would have likely manifested shortly after the accident, even if the accident had not happened, as he found that her pre-existing cervical spondylosis was the reason for the severe findings from a scan taken on Sept 16, 2013.

He granted Ms Lee $11,000 in damages for pain and suffering from her neck injuries, which also took into account the whiplash injury she suffered.

She was also awarded $2,750 for damages related to her major depressive disorder and $2,223.16 for medical expenses.

The judicial commissioner accepted that some damages were appropriate given that the accident did cause Ms Lee’s previously asymptomatic medical conditions to become symptomatic.

“I hope this decision will bring closure on this unpleasant chapter in her life and that she can move forward in a more positive light,” he added.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

Lee Sim Leng v SMRT Buses Ltd [2025] SGHC 11

Fine for driver who ran red light and hit cyclist, who also flouted traffic rules