What is the range of damages for wrongful death in a wrongful death action?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from C.M.A. v Blais, 2022 BCSC 214 (CanLII):

The plaintiff is entitled to "fair and reasonable" compensation for the non-pecuniary damages that [they] sustained and will continue to suffer as a result of the defendant's wrongful conduct. These customarily are set out in one figure encompassing all non-pecuniary damages, "including such factors as pain and suffering, loss of amenities and loss of expectation of life". See Andrews v. Grand & Toy Alberta Ltd., 1978 CanLII 1 (SCC), [1978] 2 S.C.R. 229, at pp. 261-264.

That "one figure" may be augmented in appropriate cases if the circumstances warrant "aggravated damages"; for example, where the defendant's conduct has been "particularly high-handed or oppressive", thereby increasing a plaintiff's "humiliation, anxiety, grief, fear and the like". Such aggravated damages are compensatory in nature, and "take into account the additional harm caused to the plaintiff's feelings". See Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto, 1995 CanLII 59 (SCC), [1995] 2 S.C.R. 1130, at paragraph 188.

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