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Eileen Mackey at Victoria General Hospital with her son David, then 17, in 2007. The B.C. Supreme Court has ordered the provincial government to pay $2.2 million in damages to David Mackey, who was injured in a fall at the Inner Harbour causeway. Photograph By John McKay, Victoria Times Colonist
The B.C. Supreme Court has ordered the provincial government to pay $2.2 million in damages to a young Phoenix man who was severely injured when he climbed onto a wall overlooking Victoria’s Inner Harbour, swung around a corroded lamp post and fell 10 metres onto the causeway below.
On Tuesday, Justice George Macintosh found the Provincial Capital Commission was negligent and 35 per cent at fault for the March 31, 2007, accident that left David Mackey, then a 17-year-old high school student, with severe traumatic brain injury. The judge found Mackey was 65 per cent at fault for swinging on the lamp post in a dangerous location.
“It’s obvious if he did not get up on the baluster and swing on the lamp post, the accident would not have happened,” Macintosh wrote in his 64-page judgment.
Macintosh found the lamp post was corroded to the core. When Mackey swung around it, the post came loose. It tottered and he fell onto the concrete walkway below.
In a busy tourist area, where people congregate at all hours of the day, it was an accident waiting to happen, Macintosh wrote. Because the Provincial Capital Commission has been dissolved by statute, the provincial Crown is now the defendant.
Peter Fassbender, minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, said the incident was extremely unfortunate and deeply upsetting for all involved.
“We appreciate that all parties have undergone a lengthy judicial process, which has resulted in the decision delivered this week. It would be inappropriate for the province to comment on the specifics of the judgment,” Fassbender said. “Counsel are reviewing the judgment carefully and will be providing advice on next steps in the coming days.”
Court heard that Mackey was one of 24 choir students from Paradise Valley High School visiting Vancouver and Victoria. Mackey, who was described as well-behaved and well-mannered, had swung around lamp posts in Gastown, where the posts were stable and at street level.
This photo, taken in April 2007, shows the area where David MacKey, then 17, fell after swinging on a lamp post. The had been installed on the concrete wall. Photograph By Ray Smith, Victoria Times Colonist
On March 31, as the students walked down to the Inner Harbour, another student, Ryan Ramsay, hopped up on the baluster near the Tourist Information Centre. Ramsay walked around the lamp post but did not swing on it.
Then Mackey got up. Ramsay had turned away, but when he looked back, Mackey was no longer there and the lamp post was leaning toward the water.
During the civil trial, experts testified that the skirt of the lamp post was never bolted to the baluster. The pole itself was corroded to almost nothing but flakes of rust. Although it was painted every year, the lamp post had never been maintained or inspected to see if it was intact.
“By the time of the accident, the lamp post was so poorly supported that it was almost free-standing, waiting for something, perhaps a strong wind, to topple it,” Macintosh wrote.
The accident probably would not have happened if the lamp post had been maintained and bolted in place, he concluded.
Macintosh also had to decide the extent to which the accident affected Mackey’s future earning capability. The teenager wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon.
Mackey’s lawyers argued that he was a young man with exceptional potential and the accident had ruined his career. Mackey was captain of the high school wrestling team and a gifted singer and pianist.
The accident damaged his frontal and temporal lobes. He was in a coma for a week and doctors were not sure if he would survive. Now Mackey is only capable of low-wage, repetitive work.
Lawyers for the Provincial Capital Commission argued Mackey’s high school marks were only average, which would have barred him from achieving the credentials required to become a surgeon.
However, Macintosh did not accept that argument, concluding Mackey — who has siblings with successful careers — would have been able to become an orthopedic surgeon if he hadn’t been injured in the accident. He awarded Mackey $4.53 million US in loss of future earning capacity, along with $250,000 in non-pecuniary damages, $15,000 in in-trust claim and $20,000 in cost of future care.
Damages will be reduced to take into account the fact Mackey was found 65 per cent negligent.
Smh.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
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guy was just swinging around a lamp post...not like he was disregarding a no trespassing/loitering sign and got hurt.
17 YOs should know better...but technically still not an adult. Play with fire and get burned...majority of us went through taht to some degree just that in his case it's serious and permanent
I do argue it's BS they award him compensation based on a distant potential career. Like seriously he's in high school...with average grades that don't mean shit-all as an indication for becoming a physician.
and how did the judge come up with that arbitrary number of 35%?
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Can we turn this thread into a pole dancing thread instead?
64 page judgement........... judges earning their pay.
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However, Macintosh did not accept that argument, concluding Mackey — who has siblings with successful careers — would have been able to become an orthopedic surgeon if he hadn’t been injured in the accident. He awarded Mackey $4.53 million US in loss of future earning capacity, along with $250,000 in non-pecuniary damages, $15,000 in in-trust claim and $20,000 in cost of future care.
Damages will be reduced to take into account the fact Mackey was found 65 per cent negligent.
thank god his brothers and sisters are a little smarter
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I dont take issue that the province was found partially at fault too, after all the lamp post was badly corroded if the dumbass didn't swing around and hurt himself, the post may have fallen over at another time and hurt a responsible person
what i do take issue with is the judges reasoning for those damages
Quote:
Now Mackey is only capable of low-wage, repetitive work.
Lawyers for the Provincial Capital Commission argued Mackey’s high school marks were only average, which would have barred him from achieving the credentials required to become a surgeon.
However, Macintosh did not accept that argument, concluding Mackey — who has siblings with successful careers — would have been able to become an orthopedic surgeon if he hadn’t been injured in the accident . He awarded Mackey $4.53 million US in loss of future earning capacity, along with $250,000 in non-pecuniary damages, $15,000 in in-trust claim and $20,000 in cost of future care.
Judge must have felt bad for the guys current condition
I dont take issue that the province was found partially at fault too, after all the lamp post was badly corroded if the dumbass didn't swing around and hurt himself, the post may have fallen over at another time and hurt a responsible person
That's good way to look at it because my first reaction was that they shouldn't pay him a dime, cause the post didn't break from normal use but from his own negligence.
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It would be so much cheaper to just pay the odd claim out for shit like this than it would be to generate and maintain an integrity management system for fucking light poles lol
Shitty deal for the kid but IMO he is 100% responsible, the purpose of that pole is to support a light, not a parkour hero.
Now if the light post fell over in the wind and hit someone, yes province/municipality 100% at fault.
Nice basis for a claim, I'm sure he was going to be a fucking ortho.
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It would be so much cheaper to just pay the odd claim out for shit like this than it would be to generate and maintain an integrity management system for fucking light poles lol
Shitty deal for the kid but IMO he is 100% responsible, the purpose of that pole is to support a light, not a parkour hero.
Now if the light post fell over in the wind and hit someone, yes province/municipality 100% at fault.
Nice basis for a claim, I'm sure he was going to be a fucking ortho.
Kid ways about 150 pounds. if a light pole can't candle that we got big problems. How much longer before a gust of wind took it down?
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Would it blow your mind if I told you a 150lb adult swinging around a light pole generates a load far greater than 150lbs? #sciencebruh
Beyond that, the document you linked and tables referenced are for square steel street poles for use in the State of Gerogia, the design of those poles likely differs significantly from a the light pole in question.
I'm also not sure exactly what those weight figures represent in the table.
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Maybe I'm in the minority but good, fuck him for being an idiot and paying for it.
I just don't get people that do stupid shit and then try to blame others for their stupidity
If he climbed the pole, and his fingers slipped and he fell, he wouldn't be blaming others for his stupidity.
However it should be reasonable to expect a light pole to be able to hold your weight. No matter how stupid the reason he was up there, whether for shits and giggles, or trying to get away from a rabid dog, the post fell due to the city's negligence.
Judge found him to be mostly at fault, but the city having left things in shitty disrepair made them partially responsible.
They'll appeal but I kind of agree with the judge. Yes kids do dumb shit. I've done dumb shit that probably would have gotten me killed if things were different than I had expected due to someone else's negligence. I'm sure you have too, or someone you know.
You all are agueing like the lamp post snapped out of the ground and fell with him. The article doesn't say anything beyond that it was leaning over. It may have been leaning 5 degrees.
I like how the fucking judge plainly says “It’s obvious if he did not get up on the baluster and swing on the lamp post, the accident would not have happened,” Macintosh wrote in his 64-page judgment.
Meaning if the stupid kid didn't play a stupid game, the accident would not have happened. Yet he then assigns 1/3rd of the blame so someone else.
Thats like saying, someone tripped and fell while jumping in front of a train, but the train is partially at fault because it was blue
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. He awarded Mackey $4.53 million US in loss of future earning capacity, along with $250,000 in non-pecuniary damages, $15,000 in in-trust claim and $20,000 in cost of future care.
