Are Feelings Of Anger And Frustration Compensable Mental Injuries?

Bothwell v London Health Sciences Centre, 2023 ONCA 323

Written By: Aidan Vining and Kate Hunter, Summer Student

OVERVIEW

The recent Court of Appeal for Ontario decision Bothwell v London Health Sciences Centre, 2023 ONCA 323, arises from an incident where Mr. Bothwell was administered the wrong medication in Hospital. When Mr. Bothwell learned of this error, he was angry and frustrated, and he claimed mental injury as a result.

In Bothwell, the Court of Appeal considered whether persistent feelings of anger and frustration, without more, are a compensable mental injury. The Court of Appeal reviewed the legal framework for proving mental injury as laid out by the Supreme Court of Canada in Saadati v Moorhead, 2017 SCC 28, and held that feelings of anger and frustration, without more, is evidence of psychological upset, not mental injury. Specifically, the Court of Appeal held that in the absence of evidence of impairment of cognitive functioning,