The plaintiff was injured as a pedestrian, when she was struck by an unidentified truck in November 2014. She sustained a mild concussion and soft tissue injuries. Following a trial, a jury awarded her $75,000 in general damages, and awarded her husband $10,000 in damages pursuant to the Family Law Act. The plaintiff was found 75% at fault for the accident. The defendant brought a motion on threshold following the trial.
Justice Sugunasiri held that the plaintiff did not meet the threshold. As to her psychological injuries, the plaintiff did not seek any treatment after 2017. Additionally, she called no treating witnesses. From a physical perspective, Justice Sugunasiri noted: the plaintiff did not fill all possible prescription refills for pain medication; the plaintiff did not see a physiotherapist after December of 2014; the plaintiff did not see a doctor for pain, nor any doctor at all since the birth of her third child in September of 2019; the plaintiff worked at Red Lobster in February of 2019 doing kitchen prep until September of 2019 when her third child was due; and the plaintiff had three young children for whom she was primarily responsible until the children were eligible to attend junior kindergarten. Justice Sugunasiri rejected the expert evidence of physiatrist Dr. Ghouse because his conclusions were not supported by objective evidence. Justice Sugunasiri preferred the defence physiatry expert, Dr. Clark, who found that the plaintiff’s subjective reporting was inconsistent and unlikely to be related to ongoing injury or impairment.