At law, there are a multitude of circumstances where one may suffer loss; from a motor vehicle collision, workplace accident, lost wages, to contractual disputes and commercial matters. When this occurs, there is a right to compensation for that loss.<\/p>\n
At common law, a plaintiff\/claimant is under a duty to mitigate their loss. This means a plaintiff\/claimant must take reasonable steps to reduce the extent of any loss arising from an injury. A \u2018wrongdoer\u2019 will not be liable for any loss that should have been mitigated.<\/p>\n
Adopting a personal injury example, if a person is unable to return to their usual type of employment as a result of their injury, they have a positive obligation to make reasonable attempts to rehabilitate and re-enter the workforce to the extent of their residual capacity to do so.<\/p>\n
This common law duty has been adopted in some legislation, including the Civil Liability Act 2003<\/em> (Qld), the Worker\u2019s Compensation<\/em> \u548c Rehabilitation Act 2003<\/em> (Qld) and the\u00a0Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994<\/em>\u00a0\uff08\u6606\u58eb\u862d\u5dde\uff09\u3002<\/p>\n The extent of this duty is not onerous. A plaintiff\/claimant is only required to do what is reasonable in the circumstances. A party does not have to go beyond what is reasonable and suffer further losses just to spare the person in the wrong. It is also not onerous on the plaintiff\/claimant to demonstrate that they have positively mitigated (or attempted to mitigate) their loss. The onus in on the wrongdoer\/defendant to demonstrate that the plaintiff has failed to mitigate their loss.<\/p>\n For example, A is involved in a motor vehicle accident with B, and A is at fault. When B is repairing their vehicle, a Honda, they choose to hire a vehicle as they need to drive to work every day \u2013 a Range Rover. This is an example of B failing to mitigate their loss as they have not hired, or taken all reasonable steps to hire a less expensive vehicle.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s change the narrative \u2013 as a result of the collision, B is seriously injured and fractures their knee, so they cannot return to their retail job. However, on notifying their employer, their employer temporarily offers them a role in their corporate office, and to work remote while they recover to keep earning income. B declines and does not earn an income for the next 4 months while their leg recovers. This is an example of B failing to mitigate their loss as they have not taken reasonable steps to reduce the loss they have suffered through loss of income.<\/p>\n If you have suffered loss, whether you\u2019ve been injured at work, have damaged property or are involved in a contractual or commercial dispute, reach out to SLF Lawyers to assist you in making a claim or explore your options.<\/p>\n