A Kelowna electrician, rear-ended while in a traffic jam on the Bennett Bridge, has been awarded $360,000 after the minor fender bender left her in chronic pain.

According to an April 2 BC Supreme Court decision, the incident, which took place almost a decade ago, left Nicole Lynne Marie Thompson with significant ongoing pain and caused her to have panic attacks.

The decision said in August 2015, Thompson was driving to work in "bumper-to-bumper" traffic crossing from West Kelowna when the car in front of her stopped suddenly.

She managed to brake in time, but the vehicle behind her, driven by Andrea Lesley Ballantyne, hit her at "low velocity" approximately 20 km/h. 

The two drivers exchanged details and Thompson drove to work and worked for the rest of the day.

"Shortly after the accident, she felt her neck and back tensing up and felt a stabbing pain in the middle of her back. It got progressively stiffer and sorer through the day. She had pain radiating down her right side into her shoulder, and down her arm into her fingers," BC Supreme Court Justice Steven Wilson said in the decision. "Her neck pain feels like an intense knot that she cannot undo. The pain goes by her collarbone to the point of her shoulder, down to her elbow like a funny bone feeling, and tingles in her fingers and thumb. This tingling is intermittent."

Over the years the pain had not subsided and continues to this day.

In 2021, the BC government changed the law preventing individuals from suing for compensation if they were injured in a crash. This case however predates the changes in the law, which allowed Thompson to sue for damages.

The decision said a year after the crash Thompson began training to become an electrician. She completed the course and the 6,000 hours required to become a to get her journeyman certification.

However, the physical work took a toll.

"At the end of her working day, (Thompson) found she was often in excruciating pain. She resorted to hot showers, ice packs and heating pads, together with various stretching and strengthening exercises, Tylenol and laying on the floor in order to obtain some relief," the Justice said. "This continues to this day."

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Several doctors testified confirming that Thompson's injuries were the result of the crash.

Over the years, Thompson realized the crash had affected her mentally as well.

"She noticed a gradual increase in her anxiety levels, resulting in panic attacks. A panic attack is triggered when she has a feeling of being out of control and feels stuck and unable to get out of a particular situation. She described it as a similar feeling to claustrophobia," the Justice said.

A psychiatrist testified at the trial and confirmed the anxiety disorder had come about because of the chronic pain. The defendant disagreed suggesting that numerous other events could have caused the anxiety.

However, a physiatrist testified the anxiety was caused by this crash and the Justice agreed.

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The decision gave a play-by-play account of Thompson's life after the crash, the various jobs she'd had and how she coped with her injuries. Her current employer is supportive of her limitations.

"If (Thompson) had to find another job, I would expect it may take her a little longer to find one that was suitable for her in all of the circumstances. However, I have little doubt that she would be successful. As a mature, stable, hard-working employee, she is someone a potential employer could count on. One might expect that a potential employer would find her to be less physically capable than some, but more intelligent than most, as evidenced by the fact she finished first overall in her class on her final examination," Justice Wilson said.

However, the Justice said being an electrician is extremely physical and it may one day become too much.

"Because of the physically gruelling nature of her work coupled with the time remaining to retirement and the risk of her anxiety disorder evolving into something more significant, I conclude that two-and-a-half years’ income is an appropriate award for loss of earning capacity," Justice Wilson said.

The Justice awarded $187,500 for loss of future earnings.

Combined with $17,500 damages for future care costs – including $340 for a robot vacuum – and $110,000 for pain and suffering, plus loss of earnings and special damages, the Justice awarded a total of $361,408.

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