The Supreme Court Cap on General Damages

The supreme court cap on general damages sets a ceiling on what any Canadian court can award for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, no matter how severe the injury. The ceiling comes from three decisions the Supreme Court of Canada released together in 1978, and it binds every trial court in Atlantic Canada. This chapter states where the cap came from, how it moves with inflation, and what it leaves untouched.

The 1978 Trilogy Set the Limit

In Andrews v Grand and Toy Alberta Ltd, Thornton v Board of School Trustees, and Arnold v Teno, the Supreme Court fixed an upper limit of $100,000 in 1978 dollars for non-pecuniary damages in personal injury cases. All three plaintiffs were young people with catastrophic injuries. The Court reasoned that money cannot restore what was lost, so the award buys solace instead, and solace has a rational upper bound. That reasoning, called the functional approach, still governs how courts assess general damages today.

How the Supreme Court Cap Is Indexed

The cap is not frozen at $100,000. Courts adjust it for inflation from 1978 to the date of trial, so the working ceiling is recalculated in each case and now stands at a multiple of the original figure. Lawyers look up the current indexed figure when a trial approaches instead of relying on a remembered number. The trilogy decisions themselves are published on CanLII.

What the Cap Does Not Touch

The cap applies only to non-pecuniary damages. Lost income, the cost of future care, medical expenses and the other pecuniary heads have no ceiling, and in a catastrophic case they usually dwarf the general damages award. The cap also matters only at the extreme: courts award the full amount only in cases of the gravest permanent injury, and most claims resolve well below it.

Where the Cap Matters in Atlantic Canada

The cap is the ceiling for the most serious files, and the provincial minor injury caps described in the minor injury caps chapter work at the other end of the scale. The firm handles car accident claims across all four Atlantic provinces under both limits, and the guide’s opening chapter maps the rest of the series.