A motor vehicle accident has prompted a $175,700 reward to a clinical counsellor who lived in Squamish but now resides in Whistler.
Christine Dennstedt filed a lawsuit against Sheilagh Lepine after Lepine rear-ended Dennstedt, who was stopped at a red light on the intersection of Highway 99 and Nesters Road.
“The key scenario in terms of damages here is the plaintiff resuming her private counselling practice; and that as a result of her injuries she will not be able to see as many clients,” said Justice D.M. Masuhara.
The findings, contained in the reasons for judgment released on Feb. 15, say the accident occurred in 2013. The impact broke glass on the bottom of the rear window of Dennstedt’s car, and she hit her head hard on the headrest.
After the collision occurred, she began to develop soreness, stiffness and a headache.
Court documents said that Dennstedt had — and continues to have — a very physically active lifestyle, which includes mountain biking, skiing, tennis, running and surfing.
However, a doctor who testified at court said Dennstedt experiences pain during those activities.
Pain also affects her ability to do deskwork, household chores, drive and take care of her young children.
For medical evidence, Dr. Z. Waseem, a physiatrist, was asked by Dennstedt to speak.
According to court documents, Waseem said Dennstedt received “soft tissue injuries predominantly of the cervical and lumbar spines.”
He also said she suffered post-traumatic headaches and injuries to the right wrist and right thigh.
“These injuries have resulted in chronic myofascial pain of the cervical spine and chronic episodic low back pain.”
He noted, however, the “headaches and the injuries of the right wrist and right thigh have resolved.”
“The prognosis for a full symptomatic recovery is poor given the long-standing nature of her symptoms that have persisted for over four years post-accident,” Waseem said. “She will continue to experience distracting pain while working that may impact the quality of her work and the therapy that she provides.”
Lepine’s defence raised issues with Waseem’s opinion, saying he delegated receiving and organizing medical records to some people who have administrative skills but aren’t medically trained.
“In this case, Dr. Waseem made no notes on the examination sheet which he uses in his practice,” said Justice Masuhara.
There was also a concern about completeness of the information given.
“Dr. Waseem stated he included the clinical notes for completeness but curiously excluded clinical notations of the plaintiff having no neck pain, having normal shoulder range of motion, being free of pain, and having good range of motion,” Masuhara said.
However, this didn’t make the evidence irrelevant in the judge’s eyes.
“I do not discount the evidence of Dr. Waseem in the manner argued by defence counsel; however, its weight in supporting the plaintiff’s claim is somewhat dampened,” Masuhara said.
Ultimately, the judge awarded Dennstedt less than what she asked for. She requested $85,000 in damages but was given $70,000.
Regarding future earnings, Dennstedt said she would lose about one client per day in a four-day work week. However, Masuhara believed this would be closer to one client per week.
She was awarded $90,000 as a result of future loss. About $12,500 was awarded for future care, about $1,500 for special damages and about $1,600 was for a subrogation claim. Everything added up to about $175,700.
