Chilliwack woman injured in two crashes caused by distracted drivers awarded $200,000
Credit to Author: Keith Fraser| Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2019 22:41:02 +0000
A Chilliwack woman who was injured in two motor vehicle accidents involving distracted drivers has been awarded more than $200,000 in damages.
On July 14, 2012, Alexandra Nicole Viola Todoruk was a front-seat passenger in a vehicle being driven by a friend, Mark Voronov, who went to change a song on his iPod, ran a red light and collided with the side of a car in the intersection.
Todoruk, who is now 24 years old and admits that she remembers little about the first accident, attended a walk-in clinic and after receiving a massage or two, generally recovered.
On Aug. 15, 2013, she was a front-seat passenger in a vehicle being driven by another friend, Hayley Jones, who was speaking on her cellphone while she drove on the Lougheed Highway.
Todoruk told Jones to get off her phone, her last memory before a Jeep Cherokee in front of them suddenly braked and Jones’s vehicle struck the Jeep at about 60 km/h, setting off both airbags and crumpling the car’s front hood.
Todoruk’s left side struck the centre console of the vehicle and she suffered an abrasion to her lower left abdomen. Following the collision, she climbed over Jones to get out of the car and sat in a state of shock at the accident scene before being taken to hospital in an ambulance.
Todoruk reported suffering immediate pain in her left leg, neck, rib and back, with the pain growing to include her right shoulder and arm and extending to the fingers of her right hand. Several days later she began suffering tension headaches behind her eyes.
“All of these conditions persist today,” B.C. Supreme Court Justice David Crerar said in a ruling on the case posted at the court’s website Monday. “She suffers headaches most days. These are usually mild but sometimes acute. She takes Tylenol daily.”
Liability was admitted for both accidents and the only issue before the court was the question of how much Todoruk should be awarded in damages. The second accident was seen to be much more serious than the first one.
The court heard that prior to the accidents, Todoruk enjoyed a physically active life of running, hiking, kayaking, water skiing and wakeboarding and has since been unable to carry on those activities to any great extent. She also feels the injuries outside of sports, including at school.
The judge awarded her a total of $219,200 in damages, including $80,000 for pain and suffering, $120,000 for loss of future earning capacity, $10,000 for future care, $6,000 for loss of past earning capacity and $3,200 for special damages.
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