VANCOUVER — A Surrey man who was injured while riding a Greyhound bus eight years ago has so far been awarded $314,515 by a B.C. Supreme Court judge, with more cash to come.
Ujagar Singh Dhaliwal, 61, had been working at a lumber mill in Mackenzie and was returning to Surrey to see his wife and children on Dec. 22, 2007 when the crash happened.
The court heard there had been fresh snow on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Hope when driver Jaskaran Singh Dhillon lost control of the bus and it crashed into a concrete barrier.
Dhaliwal, a passenger who was seated at the time, ended up getting stuck in between two seats, on his knees, on the floor of the bus.
Justice Arne Silverman assessed Dhaliwal's damages as follows: $85.000 for non-pecuniary damages, $184,844 for future loss of income earning capacity, $24,243 for future cost of care and $20,428 in special damages. He also determined Dhaliwal's gross income loss was $646,058 but noted that the law requires an award to be in the form of net rather than gross income loss.
"That will be the case here," Silverman said. "I will leave counsel to agree upon the amount of net income loss based on the above-noted gross figure. If they are unable to do so, they may set the matter before me for argument."
Silverman's decision was rendered on Tuesday, Nov. 24 in Vancouver.
tom.zytaruk@thenownewspaper.com