Neither opportunity nor motive are elements of the tort of battery, and a trial judge is not required to address every item of circumstantial evidence on motive when applying Briginshaw principles, provided the key findings are supported by the evidence. The assessment of damages for loss of earning capacity is more akin to an exercise of discretion than an ordinary act of decision, and an appellate court will only intervene if the trial judge acted on a wrong principle, misapprehended the facts, or made a wholly erroneous estimate of the damage suffered. When assessing past and future economic loss, courts must distinguish between findings about past events (determined on the balance of probabilities as 'all or nothing'), findings about hypothetical events (assessed by degree of probability), and allowances for contingencies (which may apply to both past and future loss).
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