Have you or any of your beloved ones had an accident causing pain and suffering? Wondering how much can I sue for pain and suffering in Canada? Then this blog is for you.
In the following part, we’ve discussed the pain and suffering claim amount in Canada and shown how a personal injury lawyer Edmonton could help you in this regard.
Keep reading to know how the calculation works here because having a wrong number in mind results in suffering.
What is the ‘Pain and Suffering’ of an accident?
When someone goes through an accident for someone’s else negligence, including a motor vehicle accident, violence, or medical malpractice, they suffer from physical and mental miseries.
Some common damages are physical and emotional pain, income loss, and loss of quality of life. These damages are known as general damage or non-economic damage (non-pecuniary).
In tort law, you can seek compensation for general damages or any other damage that has occurred from an accident.
However, pain and suffering from an accident are considered non-economic because you can’t set a financial value on a trauma. Therefore, it’s hard to calculate compensation for your pain and suffering. However, courts consider some factors while deciding on the amount of compensation or if you get any compensation.
How much can you sue for pain and suffering in Canada?
In Canada, you can sue someone for any accidents caused due to their negligence. As of 2022, the maximum settlement amount is $418,000 for pain and suffering from an injury.
If an accident diminishes the quality of your life, you could be eligible for compensation. Once you can prove successful with the help of a lawyer that the other party is at fault, you could receive the amount you have sued for.
The background for the cap on the compensation
Supreme court set the limit under the ‘The Trilogy’ or three decisions/approaches in 1978. This law applies to personal injury and automobile accident lawsuits. At that time, it was $100,000. And the figure is adjusted every year considering the compensation and cost of living.
While seeking compensation, you must remember that the Supreme court says that for pain and suffering, complete and perfect compensation doesn’t exist because money actually can’t undo any permanent losses.
Besides, what you are seeking is compensation, not any retaliation. Therefore, the amount one can be awarded should be fair for both parties. So, it’s clear that the amount doesn’t depend on sympathy.
Supreme court doesn’t grant this compensation to everyone. If you go through extreme pain and suffering, you might get compensation. Considering that – death, permanent disfigurement, and permanent physical and mental damages are the most common reasons to receive the compensation.
How is compensation for pain and suffering calculated?
There’s this misconception of that about the pain and suffering calculator. Once again, the idea is to give as much financial assistance as possible. So, there is no calculator, as it is impossible to figure out the right amount of money here.
Nevertheless, as of the decision taken in 1978, there’re three approaches to deciding compensation for non-pecuniary damage.
The approach to determining compensation for pain and suffering
The Functional approach is used as compensation for pain and suffering. The approach is based on attempting to offer enough money so it is reasonable for the misfortune rather than putting a certain price tag. The total amount will include financial assistance for future care and physical and mental distress.
Factors considered in setting the compensation
As mentioned earlier, the court will consider some factors to approve the compensation. Also, they’ll look for various evidence to check how much you can get. The evidence can be medical reports, X-rays, or medication prescribed by a physician to tackle your physical and mental pain.
Here’re a couple of factors that the court will depend on to establish the settlement money:
- Loss of lifestyle
- Impairment in family, social, and marital relationship
- Age of the victim
- Severity and duration of pain
- Nature of the injury
- Loss of life expectancy
- Disability and any other factor relevant to your functional loss.
How do you prove your eligibility for the compensation?
You will need to gather various pieces of proof to convince the court that you deserve the compensation. More possibilities of receiving the right compensation if you talk to an expert injury lawyer.
Concluding remarks
If an accident affects the quality of your life, you can claim compensation for pain and lifelong suffering. The amount you’ll get is hard to decide because it’s hard to measure your pain and suffering. That’s why no matter how much you sue, the court will consider several loss factors to ascertain the settlement amount.
See Also: Before you can settle with a lawyer
