What is the test for damages to be sustained in a motor vehicle accident?

The principles to be applied under this head of damage have been summarized by Madam Justice Dardi in Sandher v. Hogg, 2010 BCSC 1152, at paras. 87-90:

The legal principle that governs this assessment for loss of earning capacity is that, insofar as is possible, the plaintiff should be put in the position he or she would have been in but for the injuries caused by the defendant’s negligence: Lines v. W & D Logging Co. Ltd., 2009 BCCA 106 at para. 185. Compensation must be made for the loss of earning capacity and not for the loss of earnings: Andrews v. Grand & Toy Alberta Ltd., 1978 CanLII 1 (SCC), [1978] 2 S.C.R. 229.