A judge recently ruled in favour of awarding a Squamish woman close to $2 million in damages for injuries she sustained in a head-on crash on the Sea to Sky Highway in 2010.
The $1,872,000 judgment in favour of Jessica Marie Pearson in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Aug. 15 includes $1.25 million for loss of future income earning capacity.
Pearson, who was 21 years old at the time, was a passenger in a car driven by defendant Melanie Catherine Savage when the accident occurred just before Porteau Cove. Savage was driving a 2010 Mazda northbound on the Sea to Sky Highway at about 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 26, 2010 after she and her three passengers had been at Rogers Arena for a Canucks’ game and were heading back to Squamish, where they all lived, according to the Reasons for Judgment by Justice Linda Ann Loo.
Pearson and her then-boyfriend were in the backseat.
“A vehicle driving southbound on the opposite side of the highway had crossed the centre line, collided with another vehicle and Ms. Savage’s northbound vehicle,” the ruling states.
Liability in this case was admitted, and the only issue was the assessment of damages, according to the judgment.
The lawyer for Pearson, Jon Harbut, told The Chief that there is little satisfaction in winning the judgment given Pearson is still suffering.
“Obviously the number is a large number… that is because the injuries were absolutely horrible and devastating,” he said. “No one gets a judgment like this and is happy.”
Before the accident, Pearson “was young, healthy, athletic, full of joy, energetic, hard working, and very outgoing. She had ambitions about her education and career, and as her father put it, she had a trajectory,” Loo stated in her judgment.
Since the accident “her life has drastically changed,” Loo wrote. “She now isolates herself, struggles with simple household chores, is afraid to drive on the highway to Vancouver and spends much of her time in bed when she should be outside enjoying life.”
Before the accident she was pursuing a business administration degree, though she had taken time off to work, the judge’s ruling states. Since the accident, she has been unable to return to school and has held several service jobs.
Pearson suffered emotional, physical and psychological injuries, the ruling states, and has “more bad days than good.” Doctors testified her future prognosis for a full recovery is poor and she will likely never be pain free, Loo recalls in her judgment.
“The worse days are when she has so much pain in her neck and shooting pains in her ribs and lower back that she does not want to live.”
She also continues to suffer from headaches, depression and anxiety, according to the ruling.
Lawyers for the defendants argued that Pearson has worked since the accident and that no wages have been lost.
They also argued Pearson was not a credible witness and did not follow treatment recommendations in 2011 and 2012, including taking anti-depressant medication, but Judge Loo said that the defendants failed to prove that she “unreasonably failed to mitigate her damage.”
She cites doctors who testified that it is difficult for chronic pain patients to follow or adhere to treatment recommendations. She also notes most rehabilitative resources are not in Squamish, but in Vancouver, making it even harder for Pearson.
In response to a request for comment from the defendants’ legal counsel, The Chief was sent a statement from ICBC.
“We’re aware of the decision and we’re reviewing our next steps,” said Lindsay Olsen, senior communications specialist with ICBC.
The defendants have 30 days from the judgment to submit an appeal.
