Does a plaintiff have a positive duty to take reasonable steps to limit their loss?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Hauk v Shatzko, 2020 BCSC 344 (CanLII):

A plaintiff in a personal injury action has a positive duty to take reasonable steps to limit their loss: Graham v. Rogers, 2001 BCCA 432 at para. 35, leave to appeal ref’d [2001] S.C.C.A. No. 467.

Where a plaintiff has not pursued a course of recommended treatment, the onus is on the defendant to prove that the plaintiff acted unreasonably: Chiu v. Chiu, 2002 BCCA 618 at para. 57.

The test is a subjective/objective one. The question is whether a reasonable patient, with all of the information that the plaintiff had at hand, ought reasonably to have undergone the recommended treatment: Gregory v. Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, 2011 BCCA 144 at para. 56.

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