What is the test for a plaintiff to obtain compensation for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Kuras v. Repo, 2014 BCSC 1634 (CanLII):

The plaintiff must establish on a balance of probabilities that the defendant’s negligence caused or materially contributed to the injury in respect of which the plaintiff seeks compensation. The defendant’s negligence need not have been the sole cause of the injury; a plaintiff need establish only a substantial connection between the two: Sam v. Wilson, 2007 BCCA 622, at paras. 108-109.

Causation is generally assessed according to the “but for” test: Athey v. Leonati, 1996 CanLII 183 (SCC), [1996] 3 S.C.R. 458. Applying that test, the court asks whether, but for -- or without -- the defendant’s negligence, the plaintiff would have suffered the injury.

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