Plaintiff sustained injuries when a vehicle entered an intersection, colliding with his motorcycle
A Hamilton jury awarded the plaintiff over $1 million in damages for serious injuries sustained in a 2016 motorcycle accident, an amount that significantly surpassed all pre-trial settlement offers.
The plaintiff, who was seriously injured when a vehicle entered an intersection unsafely and collided with his motorcycle, received a total award of over $1 million in damages. The damages awarded exceeded both the plaintiff’s and the defendant’s settlement offers. The plaintiff had initially sought $2 million, while the jury’s award included $350,000 in general damages, $66,000 for past loss of income, and $525,000 for future medical expenses. The jury did not award damages for future loss of income or attendant care.
Several offers to settle were made before the trial. The defendant's first offer in 2020 amounted to $225,000, followed by a second offer of $350,000 in 2022. In 2023, the defendant increased the offer to $500,000. The plaintiff, however, rejected these offers and made a counteroffer of $799,000 in February 2023. The case proceeded to trial after no settlement was reached.
Following the trial, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued a ruling on costs and interest. The court awarded the plaintiff high legal costs totalling $995,854.50, including taxes and disbursements. The court ordered partial indemnity costs up to February 2023 and substantial indemnity costs from that date onward, in line with the fact that the plaintiff’s final settlement offer was considerably less than the jury award.
The court also addressed prejudgment and post-judgment interest. The court applied a three percent prejudgment interest rate, considering rising market interest rates and inflation between 2016 and 2023. Prejudgment interest was set at $84,933, while post-judgment interest, calculated at 7 percent, amounted to $23,770. In total, the court ordered the defendant to pay $1,104,557.50, including damages, costs, and interest, which significantly exceeded the defendant’s final settlement offer of $500,000.
