Does loss of earning capacity award for a motor vehicle accident take into account factors which would have reduced income earning capacity even without the accident?

ICBC cites two cases in which this court reduced loss of earning capacity awards to take into account factors which would have reduced income earning capacity even without an accident. In Tchao v. Bourdon, 2009 BCSC 147, the award was reduced by 20% because prior to the accident, the plaintiff had required time off work for a pre-existing degenerative condition.

In Jokhadar v. Denkhodaei, 2010 BCSC 1643, the award was reduced to one third because the plaintiff’s worsening psychiatric prognosis was not the “sole factor leading to the plaintiff’s relatively pessimistic prognosis for long term future employment” (para. 157). The plaintiff had two previous hospitalizations for depression and bipolar disorder.