B.C. Court awards widow Cdn$6.4 million based on “future losses”

The Supreme Court of British Columbia recently awarded a widow Cdn$6.4 million, Cdn$4.2 million of which was for the potential loss of support due to the death of her husband, a laser eye surgeon, in a 2002 car accident.

Barry Carter was driving a van owned by his employer, a cable company, when he went into hypoglycaemic shock and lost consciousness. His car veered into oncoming traffic and struck a vehicle in which Dr. Donald Johnson was a passenger. Johnson died as a result of the collision.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Harry Slade awarded Johnson’s widow Cdn$4.2 million for future losses, including pre-retirement family consumption and savings.

The court heard testimony that Johnson experienced financial issues prior to his death. Slade, however, was convinced Johnson would have bounced back from such troubles; in addition, he felt Johnson likely would have expanded his business as a successful laser eye surgeon.

“An increase in Dr. Johnson’s time expended in surgery, [yielding] a substantial increase in income was a strong possibility, more at the level of probability,” Justice Slade wrote in his decision. “There was also a realistic potential for earning business income based on an ownership interest.”