$50,000 Non-Pecuniary Assessment For Lingering Soft Tissue Injuries

Adding to this site’s archived posts addressing soft tissue injury non-pecuniary assessments, reasons for judgement were released earlier this month addressing such an injury.
In the recent case (DeGuzman v. Ge) the Plaintiff was injured in a 2011 collision.  The Defendant admitted fault.  The Plaintiff sustained various soft tissue injuries which lingered at the time of trial.  In assessing non-pecuniary damages at $50,000 Mr. Justice Smart provided the following reasons:
[38]         Here, the plaintiff was 50 at the time of the MVA.  She has a physically demanding job.  She enjoyed a relatively active life away from work.  As stated, I accept her evidence and I find that while her pain has reduced since the MVA, she continues to have significant discomfort from her injuries.  I find that this has impacted her enjoyment of her work and her relationship with her co-workers.  It has also limited the activities she used to enjoy doing away from work, such as cooking, keeping her house and yard, walking, driving for pleasure, and caring for her grandnieces.
[39]         In my view, a fair and reasonable award of damages under this heading is $50,000.