The owner of a local church and the city are being sued for allegedly failing to give warning that fireworks were about to be fired off near a spot where a woman was walking her dogs.
According to a notice of civil claim, Patricia Pedersen had her two dogs on leashes she was holding with her left hand while walking through a forested area near Fifth and Ospika on the night of Oct. 10, 2015.
That was when fireworks placed at the Lakewood Alliance Church were lit, the claim says, creating a "loud and unexpected noise" that was enough to spook the dogs who bolted.
Pedersen fell breaking her left humerus - a bone in the upper arm - and tearing a muscle in her rotator cuff. She also suffered pain to her left hip, an injury to her skull, contusions and sleeplessness, according to the claim, filed June 29 in B.C. Supreme Court in Prince George.
Pedersen alleges the event organizer failed to give any advance notice in the vicinity that there would be fireworks going off and failed to obtain permits to purchase and use the items. The organizer also ought to have known they would cause any animal in the vicinity to "react suddenly and violently," according to the claim.
She further alleges a city employee gave the organizer only verbal permission to put on the display and failed to advise that the nearby area should be checked for passersby and to give them prior warning.
The claim describes the area, Lakewood Park which borders the church's west side, as a dog-walking park.
The Christian and Missionary Alliance - Canadian Pacific District is identified as the church's owner and named as a defendant in the claim. The event organizer, identified as John Doe #1, and the city employee, identified as John Doe #2, are also named as defendants as is the City of Prince George. Pedersen is seeking general and special damages.
The defendants have not yet filed responses and the allegations have not yet been proven in court.
