Does a plaintiff have earned about the same income after an accident as he or she did before the accident as a faller?

The fact that a plaintiff has earned about the same income after an accident as he or she did before an accident is not necessarily dispositive of a claim for past loss of income. That is so for the reasons set out in Ibbitson v. Cooper, 2012 BCCA 249. The plaintiff in that case was a faller. He could not do that work as result of injuries he sustained in a car accident. He was, however, able to operate heavy equipment and did that in the years following the accident and up until trial. His hourly wage as an equipment operator was less than his wage had been as a faller, but by working longer hours, he was able to earn just as much as he had been earning as a faller. In Ibbitson v. Cooper, Garson J.A. confirmed that, as with a claim for future loss of income earning capacity, a claim for past loss is a claim for a loss of capacity, that is, a claim to be assessed on the basis of the loss or diminution of a capital asset. Past loss of income earning capacity is usually valued on the basis of past loss of income because that will often be the most reliable measure of the loss. There are, however, different methods of valuing a claim for past loss of income earning capacity, just as there are different methods of valuing a similar future loss. Which method is appropriate will depend on the circumstances.