$60,000 Non-Pecuniary Damage Assessment For Right Knee Cartilage Injury
Reasons for judgement were released this week by the BC Supreme Court, Vancouver Registry, assessing damages for a knee and back injury sustained in a collision.
In this week’s case (Buttar v. Brennan) the Plaintiff was injured in a 2008 collision. He was employed as a framer. He suffered from pre-existing back pain. This condition was aggravated by the collision. The Plaintiff also suffered a cartilage injury to his right knee causing patello femoral symptoms (knee pain).
These injuries, while not totally disabling, were expected to be ongoing and to compromise the Plaintiff in his vocation. In assessing non-pecuniary damages at $60,000 Mr. Justice Abrioux provided the following reasons:
[34] I have found that the plaintiff was a hard-working individual. I have also concluded he has made a greater recovery from his injuries than he may believe or say to be the case. He is left, however, with an ongoing low back condition which affects his life from a functional perspective to a greater degree than was the case prior to the Accident. He also has a minor yet permanent ongoing injury to his right knee which was entirely caused by the Accident…
[37] Taking into account the plaintiff’s original position and the measurable risk which I have found the plaintiff’s pre-Accident condition would have had on his life in any event, I award non-pecuniary damages of $60,000.