Court awards over $200K to woman hurt in distracted driving crashes
A Chilliwack woman who was injured in two motor vehicle collisions involving distracted drivers has been awarded more than $200,000 in damages.
On July 14, 2012, Alexandra Nicole Viola Todoruk was a frontseat passenger in a vehicle being driven by friend Mark Voronov.
Voronov was changing a song on his iPod when he ran a red light. His vehicle collided with another car in the intersection.
Todoruk, who is now 24, admits she remembers little about that accident. She later attended a walkin clinic, and after receiving a massage or two, generally recovered.
She suffers headaches most days. These are usually mild but sometimes acute. She takes Tylenol daily.
On Aug. 15, 2013, however, she was injured more seriously in a second distracted driving crash.
Todoruk was a front-seat passenger in a vehicle being driven by another friend, Hayley Jones, who was chatting on her cellphone as she drove along the Lougheed Highway.
Jones failed to stop her vehicle when the Jeep Cherokee in front of them braked suddenly. Jones’ vehicle struck the SUV at about 60 km/ h, setting off both airbags and crumpling the car’s front hood.
Todoruk’s last memory was telling Jones to get off her phone.
Todoruk struck the centre console of Jones’ 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 the 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 on 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.