A Williams Lake man has been awarded more than $277,000 in damages for debilitating injuries from a car accident following a B.C. Supreme Court case that hinged largely on concerns about his work history prior to the incident.
Chad Jeffery Anderson, 30, was suspended from his work as a crusher operator at Mount Polley mine, 100 kilometres northeast of Williams Lake, when in January 2009 he was helping his son out of the back of his vehicle and another driver backed her car into the rear door.
Anderson's left knee was crushed between the car door and the vehicle's frame. Surgery has since improved its condition, but he remains generally housebound although he has been able to work at lower-paying jobs.
Anderson had been suspended from the mine, owned by Imperial Metals, in October 2008 after missing 27 days of work over about four months. Andersen subsequently grieved the suspension and the conditions under which he would be allowed to return to work.
But because of the injury, he had been away from work for more than one year due to a non-work related cause by the time the grievance process had ended, which gave the mine the right to terminate his employment, which it did in November 2009.
Supreme Court Justice Barry Davies concluded that ICBC failed to recognize that Anderson might eventually have been reinstated at Mount Polley or might have received a compensatory award from an arbitrator due to an unfounded suspension but for the knee injury.
Even if not reinstated, Anderson might have been able to find work at the Gibraltar Mine, also near Williams Lake and owned by Taseko Mines, Davies added in his reasons for judgment issued Monday, and settled on $72,187 for past income loss.
Davis also awarded Anderson $115,000 for impaired future income after hearing testimony that the injury will limit the type of work he can pursue.
Anderson will also receive $85,000 for loss of enjoyment of life and slightly more than $5,000 in special damages and cost of future care.
All the damages are to be paid out by ICBC.
