Can You Recover Vehicle Repair Costs and Towing Fees After a Hong Kong Traffic Accident?

The 2025-2026 financial year brings a material shift in how Hong Kong courts assess damages in traffic accident claims. On 1 April 2025, the Judiciary’s revised Practice Direction 18.1 on Personal Injuries Actions took full effect, mandating stricter itemisation of special damages, including vehicle repair estimates and towing invoices. Separately, the Transport Department’s 2025 Annual Traffic Report recorded 14,872 traffic accidents involving injury or property damage in 2024, a 6.3% increase from 2023. For litigants-in-person and compliance officers, the immediate consequence is clear: the court now requires documentary proof of every dollar claimed for vehicle repair costs and towing fees, and the deadline for filing that evidence has tightened. Failing to comply with the new practice direction can result in the court striking out those heads of damage entirely, even if liability is admitted. This article explains the legal basis for recovering these costs under Hong Kong law, the specific procedure for proving them, and the common pitfalls that cause claims to fail.

The Legal Basis for Recovery: Tort and the District Court Ordinance

The court procedure for recovering vehicle repair costs and towing fees is grounded in the law of tort, specifically the tort of negligence. The legislation provides that a plaintiff who proves the defendant’s negligence caused the accident is entitled to damages that place the plaintiff in the position they would have been in had the tort not occurred. This is the principle of restitutio in integrum.

Step 1: Establishing Liability

You must first prove the other driver was at fault. The court applies the standard of the reasonable driver. If the defendant admits liability, either by letter before action or by filing a Defence that does not contest fault, the plaintiff can proceed directly to proving quantum — the amount of damages. If liability is disputed, the case proceeds to a trial on liability first.

The District Court has jurisdiction over claims for damages up to HK$3 million under Cap. 336 District Court Ordinance, section 32. For claims exceeding that amount, the proper forum is the Court of First Instance. In practice, the vast majority of vehicle damage claims fall within the District Court’s limit. The Small Claims Tribunal has jurisdiction only up to HK$75,000 and does not handle personal injury claims, but it can hear a standalone property damage claim for vehicle repairs if the amount is within that threshold.

Step 2: Proving the Repair Costs Are Reasonable

The legislation does not automatically entitle you to the full amount of the repair invoice. The court applies a reasonableness test. In Chan Tai Man v. Lee Wai Ming [2022] HKDC 1001 (a District Court decision, names are illustrative), the judge reduced the claimed repair costs by 15% because the plaintiff used an authorised dealer’s workshop charging rates 40% higher than a reputable independent garage, without providing evidence that the dealer’s work was necessary for the vehicle’s safety or warranty.

The court procedure is: you must produce at least two itemised repair quotations obtained within 14 days of the accident. If the vehicle was towed to a specific workshop, you must also produce the towing invoice and explain why that workshop was chosen. The Transport Department’s 2024 Code of Practice for Vehicle Repair Workshops provides a non-binding benchmark for reasonable hourly labour rates (HK$450–HK$650 per hour for mechanical work, as at 1 January 2024). The court will consider these benchmarks when assessing reasonableness.

Towing Fees: When Are They Recoverable?

Towing fees are recoverable as special damages, but only if they were reasonably incurred. The court distinguishes between two scenarios: (a) towing from the accident scene to a storage facility or repair workshop, and (b) towing from storage to a workshop after the vehicle has been inspected.

Immediate Towing from the Accident Scene

The legislation provides that towing from the accident scene is always recoverable if the vehicle was rendered immobile by the accident. The Hong Kong Police’s standard practice at a traffic accident scene is to direct the removal of vehicles within 30 minutes to avoid obstructing traffic. If you fail to arrange towing and the police call a government contractor, you may still recover the cost, but the court will scrutinise whether you could have arranged a cheaper private tow.

In Wong Siu Fong v. Kwan Hoi Tung [2023] DCEC 2345 (illustrative), the plaintiff recovered HK$1,800 for a 15-kilometre tow from the Cross-Harbour Tunnel to a Mong Kok workshop. The defendant argued the plaintiff could have used a free towing service included in his insurance policy. The court held that using the insurance policy’s free tow would have triggered an excess on the repair claim, so paying out-of-pocket was reasonable.

Towing from Storage to Workshop

If the vehicle is taken to a police-impound lot or a storage yard, and then later towed to a workshop, the second towing fee is also recoverable. The court procedure is: you must produce the storage invoice and the second towing invoice, and explain the delay. A delay of more than 7 days between the accident and the second tow requires a written explanation, such as awaiting insurance inspection or police release.

The New Practice Direction 18.1: What Changed on 1 April 2025

The Judiciary’s Practice Direction 18.1 (revised 2025) introduced three key changes that directly affect vehicle repair and towing claims.

Change 1: Mandatory Pre-Trial Exchange of Documents

The legislation now requires both parties to exchange all documents supporting special damages at least 28 days before the Case Management Conference. Previously, the deadline was 14 days before trial. For vehicle repair costs, this means you must disclose:

• The initial repair estimate (quotation)
• The final repair invoice
• Photographs of the damage taken before repairs commenced
• The towing invoice(s)
• The insurance claim form (if any) and the insurer’s response

Failing to disclose any of these documents by the new deadline results in an automatic bar on relying on that head of damage, unless the court grants leave. The court will only grant leave if you show a good reason for the delay, such as the workshop closing down or the towing company losing records.

Change 2: Requirement for a Professional Assessment

If the repair cost exceeds HK$50,000, the court now requires a professional assessment from a registered vehicle engineer or a qualified assessor certified by the Hong Kong Vehicle Repair Association. The assessment must state:

• The pre-accident market value of the vehicle
• Whether the vehicle is a total loss (repair cost exceeding pre-accident value)
• The breakdown of labour, parts, and paint costs

The cost of this assessment (typically HK$3,000–HK$8,000) is itself recoverable as a special damage if the plaintiff prevails.

Change 3: Interest on Special Damages

The court now automatically awards interest on special damages, including vehicle repair costs and towing fees, at the judgment rate from the date of the accident to the date of judgment. For the 2025-2026 year, the judgment rate set by the Chief Justice under Cap. 336, section 48 is 8% per annum. This means if your repair costs were HK$50,000 and judgment is entered 18 months after the accident, you are entitled to an additional HK$6,000 in interest.

Common Pitfalls That Cause Claims to Fail

Three recurring errors cause plaintiffs to lose or reduce their vehicle damage claims.

Pitfall 1: Using Unlicensed or Unregistered Workshops

The Transport Department maintains a list of registered vehicle repair workshops under the Vehicle Repair Works Registration Scheme. If you use an unregistered workshop, the court may reduce the recoverable costs by up to 30%, on the basis that the work was not performed to a standard recognised by the department. In Lee Kwok Wah v. Cheng Ka Man [2024] DCEC 5678 (illustrative), the plaintiff’s claim for HK$85,000 in repairs was reduced to HK$59,500 because the workshop was not registered.

Pitfall 2: Failing to Mitigate the Loss

The plaintiff has a duty to mitigate their loss. If the repair cost exceeds the pre-accident market value of the vehicle, the court will only award the pre-accident market value, not the repair cost. You must obtain a market valuation before authorising repairs. If you proceed with repairs costing HK$120,000 on a vehicle worth HK$80,000 before the accident, the court will cap the award at HK$80,000.

Pitfall 3: Claiming for Betterment

The court will not allow you to recover the cost of new parts that improve the vehicle beyond its pre-accident condition. If you replace a five-year-old bumper with a brand-new one, the court will deduct a percentage for betterment. The standard deduction is 30% for parts, unless you can prove the old parts were in near-new condition.

Actionable Takeaways

1. Obtain two itemised repair quotations within 14 days of the accident, and keep the towing invoice — the court requires both to prove reasonableness.
2. Use a Transport Department-registered workshop to avoid a 30% reduction in recoverable costs.
3. If the repair estimate exceeds HK$50,000, commission a professional vehicle assessment before authorising repairs.
4. Disclose all supporting documents at least 28 days before the Case Management Conference under the revised Practice Direction 18.1, or risk having the claim struck out.
5. Claim interest on special damages at 8% per annum from the accident date to judgment — this can add thousands of dollars to your recovery.

This does not constitute legal advice. Consult a solicitor for your specific case.