4. Mitigation of loss
After suffering injury or damage, a plaintiff must take reasonable steps to avoid unnecessary further loss. This is known as mitigation.
Mitigation is not a defence to liability. The defendant remains liable for the tort. However, damages may be reduced to the extent that the plaintiff unreasonably allowed avoidable loss to accumulate after the accident.
The law does not require perfection. The plaintiff need only act reasonably in the circumstances. The defendant cannot insist on the best possible course, only on a reasonable one.
For example, if a plaintiff unreasonably refuses ordinary medical treatment and that refusal makes the injury worse, the defendant may argue that the additional loss should not be recoverable. However, the law does not require the plaintiff to take every possible step or to act perfectly. The question is only whether the plaintiff acted reasonably in the circumstances.
Mitigation therefore affects the quantum of damages, not liability. The plaintiff may still succeed in negligence, but cannot recover for losses that ought reasonably to have been avoided after the defendant’s wrongdoing.
