Canadian personal injury claims are anchored to the Andrews trilogy non-pecuniary damages cap, inflation-adjusted, plus the relevant province's rules on accident benefits, statutory deductibles, and limitations.
Canadian personal injury law is provincial. Each province operates its own combination of common-law tort, provincial-statutory accident benefits, and (in some provinces) a no-fault overlay for motor injury. The shared backbone is the 1978 Andrews trilogy, which capped non-pecuniary general damages at $100,000 in 1978 dollars; that cap is inflation-adjusted by the Bank of Canada CPI and presently sits in the C$400,000s for the most catastrophic cases.
Quebec is the principal exception — it operates under the Civil Code rather than common law, and its motor-injury regime is administered entirely under the SAAQ no-fault scheme. British Columbia substantially restructured PI compensation in 2021, narrowing tort recovery and replacing it for many accident classes with the ICBC enhanced care benefits regime. Ontario layers SABS first-party benefits on top of tort.
Limitation periods are generally two years from discoverability under provincial Limitations Acts; Quebec is three years under article 2925 of the Civil Code.
Indicative settlement values, sourced to the authority documents above. These are starting points for valuation, not quotes for any specific case.
| Injury type | Band | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Whiplash / soft tissue (minor) | C$5,000 – C$25,000 | Provincial reported decisions; Nova Scotia and NB minor-injury caps apply |
| Whiplash (chronic, 1–2 years) | C$15,000 – C$70,000 | Reported decisions |
| Back — moderate | C$40,000 – C$150,000 | Reported decisions |
| Back — severe (surgical) | C$120,000 – Andrews cap | Catastrophic-band decisions |
| Concussion / mild TBI | C$30,000 – C$120,000 | Reported decisions |
| Severe traumatic brain injury | C$200,000 – Andrews cap | Pecuniary heads add substantially on top |
| Wrist or arm fracture | C$20,000 – C$100,000 | Reported decisions |
Provincial Limitations Acts; Civil Code of Québec art. 2925
Discoverability rule applies in all provinces. Special rules apply for minors, persons under disability, and claims against public authorities.
Each province's Negligence Act apportions damages by percentage of fault. There is no bar threshold; even a claimant found 99% at fault recovers 1% of damages, subject to the Andrews cap on the non-pecuniary head.
Caps that bite on damages awards in Canada, ordered by impact.
Indexed by Bank of Canada CPI. Caps non-pecuniary loss only; pecuniary loss is uncapped.
Tort awards below the threshold are subject to a statutory deductible under the Insurance Act.
Each sub-jurisdiction has its own variations. State and province pages will follow.
SABS first-party + tort. Statutory deductible.
Civil Code · SAAQ no-fault for motor injury.
ICBC enhanced care no-fault for most motor injury (post 2021).
Tort with provincial accident benefits.
MPI no-fault for motor injury.
SGI no-fault with elective tort option.
Tort + minor-injury cap.
Tort + minor-injury regulation.
Tort.
Tort.
Tort.
Tort.
Tort.
The procedural pathway from injury to settlement under Canada law.
Many provinces require formal notice to ICBC, MPI, SGI, or SAAQ within tight time windows for motor-injury claims.
First-party benefits (SABS in Ontario, equivalent in other provinces) are generally claimed before tort.
Statement of claim and defence, with case management timetable in most provinces.
Oral discovery of the parties; extensive document production.
Mandatory in many provinces (Ontario in Toronto, Ottawa, and Essex; Saskatchewan QB; Alberta JDR).
Costs and issues narrowed; settlement often pushed at this stage.
Most cases settle. Trial damages are awarded by a judge in most provinces; jury trial available in Ontario and several others.
Reported decisions that shape the framework. None of these is a substitute for advice on your case.
Established the non-pecuniary damages cap.
Confirmed CPI inflation-adjustment of the Andrews cap.
Standard of care in medical-negligence cases — locality-specific custom.
Each answer is independently coherent — built so AI engines can lift a single Q&A without losing meaning.
Vocabulary that comes up in any conversation about claim value in this jurisdiction.
Every claim turns on its own facts: severity, prognosis, recovery time, the medical paper trail, lost income, the applicable cap, and the published band that most closely matches. The figures on this page are illustrative aggregates, not a quote. For representation, consult a solicitor or attorney qualified in Canada. See our disclaimer for the full scope of what we do and don't do.