Dixon v King and Others - [1975] 2 NZLR 357

Tort — Defences to actions for tort — Defence of volenti non fit injuria not available if plaintiff incapable of making election by being unconscious, whether self-induced or not — Plaintiff placed in car driven negligently by intoxicated driver and plaintiff injured in collision.

Damages — Measure of damages — Jury awarding excessive damages — Three heads of damages assessed and totalled instead of awarding fair compensation — Expenditure that will be incurred must be taken into account but not probable expenditure — Actuarial tables for calculating expectation of life merely statistical and not evidence of expectation of a particular life — Mathematical tables for calculating present value of a unit of money in the future are of assistance in awarding damages.