What is the impact of physical impairment on a person's ability to adapt?

Persons with physical impairments do adapt. Some better than others. Or, as Southin J.A. put it, in Earnshaw v. Despins:[1] Some people overcome disabilities with remarkable tenacity. Others are weak reeds.

The plaintiff did not testify. There is, therefore, no direct evidence of where the plaintiff would fall on that continuum. Given his stoic reaction, immediately following the application of the bandage on 6 December 1996, I think it is more probable than not that he would fall closer to the former category than the latter. He seeks compensation in four areas: non-pecuniary loss, loss of capacity to earn income, costs of future care, and out-of-pocket expenses (special damages). Governing principles on the assessment of non-pecuniary loss I take from Penso v. Solowan:[2] 1. Non-pecuniary awards should be fair and reasonable, "fairness being gauged by earlier decisions"; 2. The need for "assessibility, uniformity and predictability", is great; 3. Awards should be "largely arbitrary and conventional"; and 4. The trier of fact must "have regard to the individual situation of the victim".