When a jury returns an undissected verdict for pecuniary loss in a transport accident case, the judge's task under s 93(15) of the Transport Accident Act 1986 is to infer the amount the jury must be taken to have allowed for past loss — not to independently assess past loss on the evidence. Payments under s 49 of the Act and actual earnings must be deducted from the past loss figure before interest is calculated. Counsel should endeavour to agree on the dissection of jury verdicts rather than requiring judicial determination.
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