The plaintiffs’ attorney will file a threshold motion to claim the pain and suffering damages i.e., general damages. An injured person has the right to claim the damages that they faced due to the fault of the accused. The damages usually include pain and suffering, depression, and stress. If a person has a motor vehicle accident and has injuries, they may experience pain and loss or function. They may also experience mental stress, depression, post-traumatic stress, and other non-economic damages.
The judge has an obligation to hear the threshold motion and decide if it meets the requirements. Under the laws, a judge has legal power to decide it, the jury’s verdict can’t influence this. It is the duty of the judge to consider the requirements, facts, and evidence. He or she may then decide whether the plaintiff meets the requirements.
Three important factors that a plaintiff should meet before filing the threshold motion:
Permanent Impairment
- Impairment should be permanent. Permanent impairment means that it should be for lifetime. It means that there is no specific recovery date of the impairments. The impairments are usually loss of function of a body part. The judge will review the medical reports, treatment history, and any witness testimony.
Serious Impairment
- Impairments should be serious. This means that the impairments affected the personal and life of the plaintiff. For example, wage loss, family & social relationship, loss of companionship, and education loss. It is understood that these injuries affect their regular life, especially loss of wage and loss of companionships.
Affecting the Mental or Physical Health
- In the end the judge will consider the third factor that is the impairments should have mental or physical effect. This is a difficult test to measure how much the injuries mentally affected the plaintiff. The judge reviews all the submitted documents and evidence to measure these things. For these requirements the impairments should have mental or physical effect. For instance, the injuries mentally disturbed the plaintiff, or they were injured.
How does a judge grant a threshold motion?
If a plaintiff meets the requirements the judge will grant the threshold motion. The judge will often grant the compensation for the pain and suffering. These are the very basic requirements that people will face after having an accident. It is not difficult to meet them as long as the doctors document permanency after a course of treatment.
Here is one example that will clear the concept and elaborate the requirements:
In Mamado v. Fridson, 2016 ONSC 4080, the Plaintiff was working as full-time as a receptionist. In the evening time, she was completing a university course in psychology. After her accident, she was unable to return to work or her studies. The Plaintiff’s impairments were mainly related to chronic pain. The judge decided that the plaintiff met the requirements for threshold motion. Then granted compensation for the general damages.
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