There is no single amount that every injured person can receive for pain and suffering in Ontario. Non-pecuniary damages are assessed using the nature of the injury, its permanence, the effect on daily life, comparable court decisions and the credibility of the evidence.
The Supreme Court of Canada established an upper limit for non-pecuniary damages in catastrophic personal injury cases. That judicial cap is adjusted over time for inflation. Because the current adjusted figure changes and very few injuries justify the upper limit, it should not be used as an estimate for an ordinary claim.
Courts compare the claimant’s injuries and losses with previous decisions involving similar circumstances. A severe permanent brain or spinal injury is assessed differently from a fracture that heals or a soft-tissue injury with a good prognosis.
For automobile cases, the claimant may need to meet a statutory threshold before receiving pain-and-suffering damages. In 2026, a deductible of $47,913.01 generally applies to non-pecuniary awards below the indexed threshold of $159,708.71. The deductible is subtracted from the award; it is not the same as the upper limit.
A claim may also include income loss, health-care costs, care needs, housekeeping loss and other expenses. Those economic damages are calculated separately and are not part of the judicial pain-and-suffering cap.
No lawyer can guarantee a result from a brief description. A responsible assessment requires the medical record, functional evidence, liability analysis and applicable insurance rules.
Read Krylaw’s Personal Injury FAQs for more information about damages and the statutory deductible.
This article provides general legal information as of September 2026 and is not legal advice or an estimate of any particular claim.
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