Osaka High Court Rules ‘Lost Earnings’ After Death of Eleven Year Old Hearing-Impaired Girl Should be Same as Able-Bodied Person [Podcast Episode]

By Barrier Free Japan

January 22 2025

OSAKA – In a lawsuit concerning the death of Ayuka Ide (then aged 11), who was born with a hearing impairment, and who was hit by a piece of heavy machinery seven years ago, the Osaka High Court changed the ruling of the first trial and allowed the payment of the same amount as a healthy person in the appeal trial judgment on the calculation of ‘lost earnings’ that could have been earned in the future. Although the lost earnings of disabled children have been reduced to a certain extent, it is unusual for a judicial decision to recognise the same amount. The high court judgement determined that Ayuka Ide ‘was able to work in the same workplace as able-bodied people’.

The high court changed the ruling of the Osaka District Court, which reduced the compensation amount awarded to the parents of Ayuka to 85 percent of the average lifetime pay because her salary would likely have been smaller because of her disability.

Haruna Kubo, a lawyer representing the family who has a severe hearing loss, said during the closing argument, “If reasonable accommodation had been provided, Ayuka could have worked on an equal footing with people who can hear. There is no rationale for reducing the amount below the average, and this is nothing but discrimination by the court.”

Episode Notes: 

‘In Unusual Legal Ruling in Japan, After Death of Hearing Impaired Girl, Osaka High Court Finds “Lost Earnings” of Disabled Girl Equal to that of a “Healthy Person” ’:

In Unusual Legal Ruling in Japan, After Death of Hearing Impaired Girl, Osaka High Court Finds “Lost Earnings” of Disabled Girl Equal to that of a “Healthy Person”