WICA limits vs common-law damages in Singapore

Statutory work-injury caps (from 1 November 2025) compared with reported court awards · 8 injury clusters

Statutory caps vs reported common-law awards

Under the statutory Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA), the lump sum for a work injury is capped — since 1 November 2025 at S$346,000 for 100% permanent incapacity and S$269,000 for death — and is calculated from a fixed formula based on the percentage of incapacity and the worker's earnings, with no separate award for pain and suffering. A common-law negligence claim is not capped: a Singapore court instead awards general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenities assessed on the medical evidence, plus loss of earnings and medical expenses. The two are alternative routes with different bases — the figures below set the statutory caps against what courts have actually awarded for comparable injuries.

WICA compensation vs a common-law claim — what is the difference?

WICA provides a no-fault, capped statutory route: an injured employee (or, on death, the dependants) receives a lump sum worked out from a fixed schedule — the assessed percentage of permanent incapacity multiplied by an age-adjusted multiple of monthly earnings, subject to the statutory minimum and maximum — without having to prove the employer was negligent and without a separate sum for pain and suffering. A common-law claim in negligence is the alternative: it is not capped and it does compensate pain, suffering and loss of amenities, but it requires the claimant to establish breach of a duty of care and is subject to reduction for contributory negligence. Singapore courts assess common-law general damages against the Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases and the awards in comparable reported judgments. The comparison below reports the statutory caps in force from 1 November 2025 alongside the pain-and-suffering ranges Singapore courts have actually awarded for comparable injuries in this corpus.

Limits change — These statutory limits are set by subsidiary legislation and are revised from time to time — the figures here are those in force from 1 November 2025. Because the limits change periodically, the current figure should be confirmed against the primary source (the Ministry of Manpower's published WICA compensation limits and the Work Injury Compensation Act 2019). The common-law award ranges are amounts Singapore courts assigned in specific past judgments on their own facts, not a prediction of any future award. MOM: WICA compensation limits · Work Injury Compensation Act 2019 .

Statutory Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) compensation limits in force from 1 November 2025. These are statutory caps set by legislation — not court awards. Source: Ministry of Manpower; Work Injury Compensation Act 2019.

WICA compensation typeStatutory limit (from 1 Nov 2025)Source cases
Permanent incapacity — maximum
The lump sum for permanent incapacity is the assessed percentage of permanent incapacity multiplied by a figure that is capped at S$346,000 (i.e. S$346,000 × % permanent incapacity for 100% incapacity).
S$346,000—
Permanent incapacity — minimum
The corresponding minimum multiplier is S$116,000 × % permanent incapacity.
S$116,000—
Death — maximum
The lump sum payable on a work-related death is capped at S$269,000.
S$269,000—
Death — minimum
The minimum lump sum payable on a work-related death is S$91,000.
S$91,000—
Medical expenses
Medical expenses are payable up to S$53,000 or for one year from the date of the accident, whichever is reached first.
S$53,000—
Medical leave wages
Medical leave wages are paid at the full average monthly earnings (AME) for the first 60 days of hospitalisation leave (or the first 14 days of outpatient leave), and at two-thirds AME thereafter, up to one year.
Full / two-thirds AME—

What Singapore courts awarded at common law for comparable injuries

A common-law negligence claim is not capped. The figures below are the pain-and-suffering / general-damages ranges Singapore courts actually awarded for each injury in reported judgments in this corpus — separate from, and additional to, any award for loss of earnings or medical expenses. Each range links to the injury page with the per-case breakdown.

Injury Pain & suffering awarded (range · median) N Leading judgment
Neck & whiplash injuries S$2,000 – S$12,000 · median S$8,000 3 [2024] SGHC 212
Head & brain injuries S$1,500 – S$205,000 · median S$3,000 3 [2024] SGHC 42
Leg, knee & ankle injuries S$15,000 – S$50,200 · median S$17,500 3 [2024] SGHC 212
Wrist & hand injuries S$500 – S$40,000 · median S$750 3 [2024] SGHC 86
Scarring & disfigurement S$4,000 – S$8,200 · median S$8,000 3 [2024] SGHC 42
Psychiatric injuries S$3,000 1 [2026] SGDC 106
Chest & torso injuries S$8,500 – S$18,000 · median S$13,250 2 [2024] SGHC 42
Multiple-injury awards S$5,500 – S$236,000 · median S$97,200 5 [2025] SGHCR 22

Pain-and-suffering ranges are the general-damages sums Singapore courts assigned for the injury in specific reported judgments on their own facts — not a prediction of any future award, and not comparable line-for-line with the WICA lump sum (WICA pays no separate sum for pain and suffering). The two are alternative routes to compensation.

Related

Personal injury quantum — what courts awarded → How Singapore courts apportion liability →

Source judgments

Every figure on this page is drawn from a reported Singapore judgment. The cases below are the primary sources; each links to its full judgment.

Compiled by the SG Case Law editorial team from primary sources — the judgments themselves and Singapore Statutes Online (sso.agc.gov.sg). · Updated 10 July 2026 · How we compile this

Last updated .