What is the test for severance in a personal injury action?

The applicable principles of law to apply in determining whether an issue, or issues, are appropriate for severance are clearly delineated in Nguyen v. Bains (2001), 11 C.P.C. (5th) 177, 2001 BCSC 1130 at para. 11. These are: (a) A judge’s discretion to sever an issue is probably not restricted to extraordinary or exceptional cases. However, it should not be exercised in favour of severance unless there is a real likelihood of a significant saving in time and expense. (b) Severance may be appropriate if the issue to be tried first could be determinative in that its resolution could put an end to the action for one or more parties. (c) Severance is most appropriate when the trial is by judge alone. (d) Severance should generally not be ordered when the issue to be tried is interwoven with other issues in the trial. This concern may be addressed by having the same judge hear both parts of the trial and ordering that the evidence in the first part applies to the second part. (e) A party’s financial circumstances are one factor to consider in the exercise of the discretion. (f) Any pre-trial severance ruling will be subject to the ultimate discretion of the trial judge.