What is the proper test for future earning capacity?

The proper test for determining loss of future earning capacity is whether there has been a loss of capacity that deserves to be compensated: Perren v. Lalari, 2010 BCCA 140 at para. 12.

The question on this appeal, therefore, is whether this error could have had any practical impact on the jury’s award; that is, whether this misdirection resulted in a substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice because a jury apprised of all the relevant information might very well have arrived at a different verdict: Mazur v. Lucas at para. 51. If the error could not have had such an impact, the misdirection was harmless, and did not result in any injustice.

In assessing the impact of the misdirection, the charge must be considered as a whole and in conjunction with the entirety of the evidence and the jury addresses of counsel: Lennox v. New Westminster (City), 2011 BCCA 182 at para. 25, leave to appeal ref’d, [2011] S.C.C.A. No. 257.