Is a plaintiff entitled to compensation for the loss of housekeeping services provided by members of her family?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Lakhani v. Elliott, 2009 BCSC 1058 (CanLII):

In McTavish v. MacGillivray, 2000 BCCA 164, 74 B.C.L.R (3d) 281, Madam Justice Huddart said at para. 63: As we have seen, it is now well established that a plaintiff whose ability to perform housekeeping services is diminished in part or in whole ought to be compensated for that loss. It is equally well established that the loss of housekeeping capacity is the plaintiff’s and not that of her family. When family members have gratuitously done the work the plaintiff can no longer do and the tasks they perform have a market value, that value provides a tangible indication of the loss the plaintiff has suffered and enables the court to assign a specific economic value in monetary terms to the loss. This does not mean the loss is that of the family members or that they are to be compensated. Their provision of services evidences the plaintiff’s loss of capacity and provides a basis for valuing that loss. The loss remains the plaintiff’s loss of economic capacity.

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