What is the test for determining the range of general damages for a plaintiff in a motor vehicle accident?

The identification of comparable cases is not a simple task. Each case is unique. The process should be systematic and rational, not conclusory. We must therefore search for common factors that influence the awards, such as, most obviously, the age of the plaintiff and the nature of the injury. However, comparisons can be made on a more abstract level, as well. The factors to be considered include the relative severity and duration of pain, disability, emotional suffering, and loss or impairment of enjoyment of life. The awards in the comparable cases must be adjusted for inflation. When the appropriate range is identified, adjustments must be made for the particular circumstances of this case, including the plaintiff’s need for solace, which must be considered subjectively: Penso v. Solowan, supra, at 261. Then, in determining whether the award falls so far outside the acceptable range as to justify appellate interference, we must make allowance for the fact that the award was assessed by a jury. Requiring a greater margin of deviation in the case of a jury award respects the parties’ original choice to have the damages assessed by a jury rather than a trial judge. It also promotes the instructional function of jury awards, in the sense that, to some extent, departure from the conventional range established by trial judges may serve as a corrective to the views of trial judges by shifting the range so that it more accurately reflects current community standards.