Unlike some other Canadian provinces, in Ontario, jury trials are still regularly used in civil cases such as personal injury lawsuits. Are juries really fair to accident victims? In a 2016 case, Mandel v. Fakhim, an Ontario Superior Court judge expressed the opinion that “jury trials in civil cases seem to exist in Ontario solely to keep damages awards low in the interest of insurance companies, rather than to facilitate injured parties being judged by their peers.” The judge, Justice Frederick L. Myers, was reacting to a jury verdict returning a damage award of just $3,000 in a lawsuit where an accident victim had asked for over $1 million.

The Divisional Court recently reviewed Justice Myers’ handling of the Mandel case and, while it disagreed with his views of the jury system and certain aspects of how he managed the litigation, it nevertheless upheld his decisions and dismissed the plaintiff’s appeal of the low damage award.

Here is some background on the case. The plaintiff and the defendant were involved in a car accident in 2009. The actual contact between the vehicles was “slight,” according to Justice Myers. The plaintiff sued for damages, alleging he sustained “very substantial physical and emotional injuries” that prevented him from returning to work following the accident. Overall, the plaintiff demanded approximately $1.2 million in general and special damages.

The case was tried before a jury over a period of 12 days. “The usual experts for both sides gave the usual testimony,” Justice Myers noted. “And the jury gave the usual verdict.”

The jury decided to award just $3,000 in non-pecuniary damages, i.e. compensation for the plaintiff’s pain and suffering. But the jury awarded zero damages for the plaintiff’s other claimed damages, including the loss of past and future income, medical care, and other costs. As Justice Myers explained, the plaintiff would not even receive the $3,000 for pain and suffering, as it was subject to Ontario insurance law’s mandatory $30,000 deductible for personal injury awards.