A Hong Kong court has granted HK$6.29 million in compensation to a dancer who suffered “catastrophic” disabilities and permanent, total incapacity after he was hit by a giant falling screen during a concert by the popular boy band Mirror nearly four years ago. Hong Kong dancer Mo Li. File photo: Derek Li, via Facebook. In a written judgement on Monday, District Judge Phillis Loh ordered Studiodanz Company to pay 31-year-old Li Kai-yin, better known as Mo, the maximum sums under the city’s Employees’ Compensation Ordinance. The work accident occurred on July 28, 2022 , when a hanging LED display panel fell and struck Li, leaving him with life-threatening injuries.
Calling the accident “a catastrophe to a young energetic person,” Loh assessed Li’s claim for damages using the maximum statutory caps across several categories. They included his total incapacity, the attention required for his condition, loss of earnings during temporary leave, and his medical expenses.
Evidence before the court supported “the predicaments of [Li] in his permanently disabled condition, the need for constant lifetime attention and assistance in personal care and daily living activities, and the requirement of the current 3-carer regime, together with the medical staff and his parents,” the judge wrote.
“He is incapable of ever leading or appreciating an independent adult life,” Loh wrote.
Honest witness
The judge found Li to be a “frank and honest” witness and accepted his claim that he made an average of HK$66,857 per month, including HK$3,200 in cash payments, in the year prior to the accident. Li testified via a video link at a hearing last month.
She also accepted the written testimony of Li’s father, pastor Li Shing-lam, who passed away on April 25, shortly before the hearing. Li’s father was employed as an interim senior pastor with the Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church in Canada with an annual income of CA$89,441 (HK$500,165) prior to the accident. He returned to Hong Kong and had to resign from his job to take care of his son full-time.
“Since the Accident, as parents, the Father and his wife had devoted all their time in accompanying [Li] in treatments and taking care of him round the clock,” the judge wrote.
Round-the-clock care
Li was 27 at the time of the accident and currently needs three carers to provide round-the-clock assistance, according to the judgement.
His lawyer submitted to the court that, based on the official projection of life expectancy for males in Hong Kong, a 31-year-old like Li could live for another 53.29 years.
Li’s long future life span warranted the maximum amount of compensation for the medical attention required under the city’s law, Loh said. A task force led by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department conducts an inspection at Hong Kong Coliseum, where the Mirror concert was held, on August 1, 2022. Photo: GovHK. Loh ordered Studiodanz Company to pay HK$3.4 million for Li’s total incapacity, HK$644,710 for the attention he requires, HK$1.97 million to cover work leave, and HK$254,400 for medical expenses, totalling HK$6.29 million.
The judge also ordered the company, which was absent throughout the proceedings, to pay interest and legal costs.
Studiodanz was fined HK$132,000 in 2023 after it pleaded guilty to five offences relating to the incident. Two other firms, Engineering Impact and Hip Hing Loong , were fined HK$220,000 and HK$420,000, respectively, for occupational safety offences.
Li has also filed claims in the High Court against 11 companies as well as the Leisure and Cultural Services Department in connection with the accident. A hearing has yet to be scheduled.