The Thornhill (Litigation Guardian of) vs. Shadid was released by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Newmarket on January 31, 2008.

On Christmas day, 2002, Nadine Thornhill, a 30 year old public health nurse, left her home for a short trip to the drugstore to pick-up some medicine for her son. It was the middle of a winter storm and she was forced to drive her Toyota Tercel in the tire tracks made by other vehicles. Suddenly, a Jeep Cherokee from the oncoming lane spun out of control and smashed into her vehicle, driving the engine and the dashboard back into Ms. Thornhill’s right knee.

Ms. Thornhill sustained a contusion over her left shoulder, fractured ribs, a fractured right arm, a laceration over her right knee and, most significantly, open fractures to two of the three principal components of her right knee. She had a total of six surgeries on her knee with more scheduled to come, and she was restricted to part-time sedentary work and few activities.

Ms. Thornhill hired an Ontario car accident lawyer and sued the driver of the other vehicle for damages resulting from the accident. She also sued the Municipality of York for failing to maintain the roadway for reasonable use as a result of the uncleared snow and ice.

At trial, the court reviewed all the evidence, including testimony by the snowplow driver, and concluded that York had failed to show that the roadway had been cleared of snow since the beginning of the storm at 6:00 a.m. that day. The driver of the other vehicle was traveling at approximately 60 kilometers which he admitted was too fast for the wintry road conditions. As a result, the court found that the driver and the Municipality of York were both equally liable for Ms. Thornhill’s injuries.

The court awarded Ms. Thornhill the following damages:

• $225,000 – General Damages
• $106,000 – Past Income Loss
• $932,300 – Future Income Loss
• $23,300 – Additional Losses re Surgery
• $29,200 – Present Value of Future Pension Losses
• $481,500 – Future Care Costs
• $60,000 – Family Law Act Claims

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