A once 鈥渃heerful, bright, hard working and optimistic鈥� North Vancouver woman was awarded more than $750,000 after she slipped and fell in 鈥渁 large pool of laundry detergent鈥� six years ago.
According to B.C. Supreme Court documents released Wednesday, Lori Lee Harrison was shopping at the North Vancouver Superstore on March 25, 2012, along with her son Chris and her aunt Irmgard.
After shopping for an hour-and-a-half, the trio went up to the till to pay for their items, when Harrison realized she forgot to purchase a present for her nephew鈥檚 birthday dinner that night.
The three shoppers went out to their car to unload the groceries before Harrison and her son returned to the store to purchase a Kinder Surprise chocolate treat and a card for her nephew.
As she walked to Aisle 1 to buy the chocolate, she stepped into a 鈥渓arge pool of liquid laundry detergent鈥� and and began to slide towards 鈥渆nd cap鈥� shelves at the end of the aisle.
Harrison said she stuck out her hands 鈥渋n a manner akin to what one does when surfing鈥� as she slid towards the end cap before hitting her left eyebrow on it.
The force of the impact pushed her backwards, and she recalled thinking that she was going to hit her head on the floor.
The next thing Harrison remembers is waking up on the floor near the end cap with a woman holding her hand, according to court documents.
She saw blood from the blow to her head on her hands, as well as the woman鈥檚, and heard her son 鈥渟creaming for an ambulance.鈥�
Three Superstore employees, including the manager, came to help Harrison and mop up the six-foot-wide mix of blood and laundry detergent on the floor around her.
First responders arrived on scene and took her by ambulance to Lions Gate Hospital.
Two witnesses confirmed that Harrison had fallen near the end cap where the floor was covered in a 鈥渓ight, shiny, transparent liquid on the floor with bubbles on the edge of it,鈥� and one testified that she had heard 鈥渁 horrific thud鈥� as Harrison fell, although she didn鈥檛 see the fall.
Harrison鈥檚 son testified that when he arrived at his mother鈥檚 side, she was lying in a pool of laundry detergent.
In his decision, Justice Jasvinder S. Basran wrote that the testimony of Harrison and the three witnesses seemed accurate and was enough to prove that Harrison had slipped on a large pool of liquid laundry detergent, hit her forehead on the end cap of Aisle 1, and subsequently fell backwards and hit the back left of her head on the floor.
Basran further wrote that although Loblaws, the owner of Superstore, had a policy of regularly inspecting floors and documenting them in a 鈥渟weep log,鈥� the company was unable to produce a log for the grocery area where Harrison fell.
Harrison said she 鈥渇elt woozy and had lost time鈥� right after the accident. She didn鈥檛 remember the fall, parts of the ambulance ride and 鈥渞eported blurry vision as well as significant pain鈥� from the accident.
She鈥檚 had 鈥減ersistent and ongoing headaches鈥� as well as 鈥渄izziness, imbalance, nausea, difficulties with concentration and memory, insomnia, and fatigue鈥� that make it difficult to use a computer or concentrate.
Regan Smith, a longtime friend, said Harrison no longer takes pride in her appearance, has gained more than 80 pounds and 鈥渋s no longer the same person that she was before the accident.鈥�
A neurologist found that Harrison 鈥渞emains completely disabled due to the combined residual adverse effects of her injuries鈥� from the fall.
Basran found that Harrison was 鈥渟imply no longer able to work鈥� and awarded her $755,549 in damages to be paid by Loblaws to cover loss of income, the care she will need and non-pecuniary damages.
He also ordered Loblaws to pay the province $6,671 in health-care recovery costs.
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