The Court of Appeal for Ontario heard an appeal from a judgment awarding over $2.5 million in damages to a cyclist injured in a collision with a motor vehicle.
The appellants, the driver and the excess insurer, challenged the trial judge's findings on liability, damages, and costs.
The Court dismissed the appeal on liability, future care, deductions, and contingencies, upholding the trial judge's finding that the driver failed to discharge the reverse onus under the Highway Traffic Act.
However, the Court allowed the appeal regarding the past and future loss of income award, finding a palpable and overriding error in the trial judge's calculation of the pre-collision earning capacity by misinterpreting the currency of expert evidence.
The income loss award was varied to adjust the earning capacity figure to 2022 dollars instead of 2012 dollars.
