What is the "earnings approach" used to determine a plaintiff's income loss?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Aselstyne v Stobbart, 2021 BCSC 26 (CanLII):

The “earnings approach” involves a form of math-oriented methodology such as (i) postulating a minimum annual income loss for the plaintiff’s remaining years of work, multiplying the annual projected loss by the number of remaining years and calculating a present value; or (ii) awarding the plaintiff’s entire annual income for a year or two: Pallos v. Bottle, 2011 BCSC 1389 at para. 233.

The “capital asset” approach involves considering factors such as: 1. Whether the plaintiff has been rendered less capable overall of earning income from all types of employment; 2. Whether the plaintiff is less marketable or attractive as a potential employee; 3. Whether the plaintiff has lost the ability to take advantage of job opportunities that might otherwise have been open; and 4. Whether the plaintiff is less valuable to himself as a person capable of earning income in a competitive labour market: Morgan v. Galbraith, 2013 BCCA 305 at paras. 53 and 56.

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