A tortfeasor is not always to blame for a plaintiff’s mental health problems. In 7-Elevan Canada Inc. v. Tommy, 2025 BCCA 220, a plaintiff suffered ankle and back injuries in a trip and fall. She subsequently suffered elbow and abdominal injuries in a motor vehicle accident, and an unrelated hernia and ovarian cyst. At the trial of her trip and fall claim, she was awarded $175,000 in non-pecuniary damages, reflecting the significant sadness and depression she suffered after the trip and fall. The defendant’s appeal on damages was allowed. While the trial judge appropriately treated the plaintiff’s physical ailments as divisible between those caused by the trip and fall and those from other causes, the trial judge mistakenly treated the plaintiff’s mental health issues as being indivisible. The trial judge did not make a finding that the plaintiff’s ankle and back injuries materially contributed to her mental health issues, meaning that the plaintiff’s mental health issues could not be considered in assessing damages. The appeal was allowed and a new trial was ordered.