On July 1st, 2005, a family had left their cottage on long lake in Saskatchewan to go watch fireworks. They were traveling b boat to go see the fireworks. On the boat, there were 6 people, a mother and father, their two children, and two of their friends. While they were returning to their cottage another boat came speeding at them from behind. The father was driving and tried to speed up and move out of the way of the oncoming boat. However, the other boat was going too fast and hit them and came over the back of their boat. The boat hit the mother and knocked her off the boat into the water.
As the others helped the mother, the father spoke to the driver of the other boat, and then the boat left. The father pursued the boat and spoke to the driver again. The driver left the scene again. The father then decided to stop pursuing the boat and seek medical attention for his wife who had been injured. She was brought to the hospital and they informed her that she had suffered soft tissue injuries to her left shoulder and back.
The next day they reported the incident to the RCMP. The father did some investigating and found the man responsible for the accident and gave the information to the officers on the case. The officers then charged the man with a violation of the Canada Shipping act. On August 22, 2005, the man appeared in court and plead guilty to the charges, and was ordered to pay a $250 fine.
Injuries
The mother was the only person injured in the accident. The soft tissue injuries to her should and back caused her pain that interfered with some of her daily tasks. It was determined she suffered from complex regional pain syndrome with impingement of the nerves in her left shoulder. She experienced pain for around 2 years following the accident but now her injuries are mostly resolved.
Compensation
The mother who was injured in the collision initiated a lawsuit against the driver for the damages she suffered. The trial for the lawsuit commenced in 2016 and the judge released his verdict on October 7th, 2016. The driver altogether denied being involved in the collision however the judge determined that on a balance of probabilities that he was the driver of the boat that collided with the family and he was 100% liable for the woman’s injuries. The judges awarded the woman $75,000 in general damages, $5000 for past loss of housekeeping, and $2,175 for physiotherapy.