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A B.C. bride who said she suffered emotional injury after one of her guests lost part of a finger during the wedding reception has lost her case against the venue.

According to an Oct. 28 B.C. Provincial Court decision, bride Christine Yu and groom Keith Walkinshaw held their wedding in the downtown Vancouver events venue The Permanent.

The century-old building was once the home of the Bank of Canada and still contained an old vault door.

During the wedding at one point in the evening, a wedding guest severed their finger in the vault door.

"Ms. Yu was standing a few feet away from the closed vault door. Her back was to the door and she was facing the front of the room when she heard her girlfriend say, 'I have to leave right now,'" the decision said. "Ms. Yu turned to see her close friend holding her hand up and near to her body. Ms. Yu noticed that her friend’s face was white and she heard someone say, 'You don’t understand it fell on the ground.'"

Yu then looked up and saw blood and a portion of her friend's finger on the ground.

"The severed finger was picked up and transported with the injured party to the hospital," the decision said.

The vault door at The Permanent.

Image Credit: www.thepermanent.ca

The reception continued with people drinking, socializing and dancing, but Yu testified that the guests were occupied with what had happened.

"She states the emotion of the event resulted in the wrong song being played for the first dance and that her enjoyment of the evening had been compromised by the accident and her worry for her friend," Judge Reginald Harris said in the decision.

Yu and Walkinshaw then sued The Permanent arguing the wedding venue breached its contract by renting premises that were unsafe and that Yu had suffered emotional injury after seeing the severed finger on the floor.

The wedding venue denied the premises were unsafe and that the couple signed a waiver of liability meaning the venue couldn't be sued.

The venue also said it had told to couple it was their responsibility to make sure none of their guests touched the door during the reception.

Yu disputed this but the judge sided with the venue.

The wedding guest that lost part of their finger didn't testify in court, so there was no direct evidence as to what actually happened.

An expert in vaults and their locking mechanisms testified there was nothing wrong with the vault and he couldn't see anything that was unsafe with the door.

"This leads to the conclusion that the injured party or others were being reckless and unsafe with the door," the judge said. "In this regard, the door was opened at least wide enough for the injured party’s finger to somehow come to be between the frame and the door. Additionally, and while the injured party had her finger in or near the door opening someone closed the door."

The judge ruled the incident was caused by guests "dangerously and recklessly" interacting with the vault door.

"In my view, the evidence falls markedly short of establishing that the vault door was unsafe. If I am incorrect regarding the safety of the vault door, there is no evidence to support a finding that the venue was so unsafe it was therefore unsuitable for (a) wedding reception," Judge Harris said.

The couple argued that The Permanent was grossly negligent and the waiver of liability they signed wasn't binding.

However, the Judge disagreed.

"I observe, Ms. Yu, an intelligent, educated person, walked through The Permanent prior to receiving the contract and therefore had the opportunity to observe the obvious risks such as doors, stairs, electrical sockets, etc," the judge said. "Then and after visiting The Permanent, Ms. Yu read the entire contract and she understood it. In this regard, she knew that but for wilful conduct or gross negligence on behalf of the defendant, she was barred from suing for damages. Then, and while fully aware of the clause and its impact, Ms. Yu signed the contract thereby binding herself to all of the terms and conditions."

Ultimately, the judge dismissed their case.

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