How has the date of judgment been calculated in a motor vehicle accident case?

Saskatchewan, Canada


The following excerpt is from Bunce v. Flick, 1991 CanLII 7975 (SK CA):

It is evident that the appellant considered the appropriate date for calculation of damages to be the date of the trial, in the present case, and the date of judgment in the previous cases referred to to establish an appropriate range. However, in the case of nonpecuniary damages, they are to be assessed as of the date of the accident, not the date of the trial, judgment or appeal. The latter dates are purely fortuitous and have no bearing on damages, which were all sustained when the injuries were sustained, that is, when the cause of action arose, notwithstanding that they are compensation for future loss. This is borne out by the judgment in Watkins v. Olafson as well as the provisions of s. 6(1) of the Act which provides as follows: "6(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the court shall calculate interest under this Act from the day on which loss or damage is first sustained to the day of judgment at the rate determined by averaging the interest rates in effect during that period." Subsections (2) and (3) make exception for expenses incurred or income lost after the date of the accident and cases where money was paid into court. Accordingly, the damages for nonpecuniary loss must be assessed in this case as of the dates of the accidents, not the date of judgment. In considering and comparing awards in previous cases, the awards must be adjusted for inflation on the basis that they reflected the appropriate amount of damages at the date the injuries were incurred, not the date of trial, judgment or appeal.

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