A B.C. Supreme Court judge has awarded a woman more than $2.6 million as a result of four motor vehicle accidents.
Justice Shannon Ramsay said in an April 1 decision that Maria Rhodora Banada Thomas alleged the cumulative effect of the injuries she suffered in the accidents has left her with chronic pain and severe psychological symptoms.
“She says her injuries render her totally disabled from working and significantly impair her ability to function in all aspects of her personal life,” Ramsay said.
“The plaintiff’s chosen profession is no longer available to her,” the judge said. “She can no longer participate in the type of physical activity she previously enjoyed. She is now reclusive, unhappy, and difficult to be around.”
The accidents occurred Feb. 10, 2018; Feb. 19, 2018; June 11, 2020 and Dec. 16, 2020.
“The defendants all admit liability,” Ramsay said.
The first accident happened when Thomas was 42.
The judge said Thomas had a life working full time, maintaining a household, caring for her two daughters and her stepchildren, and helping with the needs of extended family members.
"She loved her job in nuclear medicine technology and had ambitious career goals. She was also passionate about exercise; she enjoyed physical fitness so much that she had obtained specialized yoga teacher certification."
In the first accident, Thomas was struck the front passenger side of her vehicle, pushing it into oncoming traffic on Vancouver’s Clark Drive.
Nine days later, she was rear-ended as a driver made a lane change on the Alex Fraser Bridge.
Ramsay said Thomas could not return to work after that as the job required wearing heavy protective gear and regularly involves sitting in an awkward position and reaching around a protective barrier to measure and mix radioactive material.
“Despite pursuing all recommended treatment after (the first and second accidents), her physical symptoms did not improve to the point where she could perform her job duties,” Ramsay said.
In the June 2020 incident, Thomas was driving between medical appointments when she was again rear-ended.
The fourth incident occurred when Thomas’s daughter, who had just received her driver’s licence the day before, rear-ended a minivan as she changed lanes.
Thomas was in the rear passenger seat.
“The plaintiff says that she downplays this accident, because she does not want her daughter to feel bad about adding to the plaintiff’s injuries," Ramsay said.
The largest part of the award was $1,269,448 for loss of future earning capacity. Loss of past income was found to be 528,000.
