The Osaka High Court on Monday increased the amount of compensation owed to the family of an 11-year-old hearing-impaired girl who was killed by heavy machinery in 2018, overturning a lower court ruling that granted reduced compensation for future lost earnings compared to people without disabilities.
It is the first ruling to calculate the potential future income of a disabled child in the same way as able-bodied people, according to lawyers for the family of Ayuka Ide.
The court ordered the payment of about ¥43 million (around $227,000), equivalent to that of a nondisabled person, stating that there was “no reason to reduce the amount from the average of all workers” on lost earnings that the victim would have been able to earn in the future. The family had sought ¥61 million.
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