A Vancouver lawyer has been awarded a sum of $6 million (£3,707,864) for injuries she received while she was dancing at a nightclub in 2001.
Michelle Marie Danicek, who was 32 at the time of the fall, was working for Canadian lawyers Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP. The B.C. Supreme Court awarded her more than CAN$5m (£3,089,887) for her loss of earnings capacity and a further CAN$1m(£617,921) in damages for the head injuries she received when a work colleague fell on top of her on the dance floor.
In April 2001, Ms. Danicek and some co-workers went to a bar in Yaletown. Later in the evening Ms. Danicek was dancing behind her colleague Jeremy Poole when he stumbled and fell backwards onto her, causing her to hit her head on the floor. Both of them had been drinking.
Although her personal injuries seemed minor to begin with, she soon started to develop more serious problems, including vomiting and nausea, persistent headaches and cognitive problems like memory and handwriting problems. She was forced to take eight months off work.
When she returned in December 2001, Ms. Danicek had to take up to 30 Advil tablets every day for her headaches and she began to believe that she was suffering from a cognitive deficit, according to court documents.
The following June, she was rear-ended while driving to Whistler. Ms. Danicek testified that the incident exacerbated her existing injuries and resulted in more chronic and debilitating headaches. She was forced to take medical leave from the firm in 2004.
Ms. Danicek had to leave her job during the course of the lawsuit, and her lawyer said she no longer practices law.
Experts have said that the settlement provides a glimpse into the potential lifetime earnings of a promising lawyer.
Brian G. Grant, a managing partner at Lerner’s and an expert on personal injury litigation said that typically, an award of that amount is usually in respect of a substantial sum to care for the person who has sustained the injury or it’s for loss of income. He added that the large sum was most likely attributable to the loss of around 30 years of future earnings for a promising lawyer who was at the start of her career.
Ms. Danicek reached an agreement with Mr. Poole that reduced his liability for the accident and increased that of Lombard General Insurance Co. of Canada, which insures the law firm and its employees and against which Mr. Poole made a third-party claim.
