TORONTO, April 7 /CNW/ - In a decision released on March 31, the Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a 2006 jury verdict which, at the time of trial, was the highest award ever made in a personal injury case in Canadian history.

Earl Cherniak and Kirk Stevens of Lerners LLP acted for the plaintiffs on the appeal involving a toddler who fell from a fifth-storey window back in 1997.

“The Court of Appeal rejected any suggestion that brain injury is less serious than other visible injuries,” said Kirk Stevens of Lerners.” The Court of Appeal will not interfere with trial level assessments of damage as long as they are supported by the evidence and the trial is fair.”

“This case confirms that survivors of severe brain injury can receive the maximum in general damages,” said Nancy Ralph, who acted for the plaintiffs at trial and selected Lerners as counsel for the appeal.

The Court of Appeal’s judgment in Sandhu v. Wellington Place Apartments, which is the largest personal injury award affirmed at the appellate level in Canada, is in excess of $17 million, including interest and costs. The court upheld a jury award against the landlord in favour of the minor, who sustained a catastrophic, frontal-lobe brain injury when he fell out of a window through a broken screen.

The trial judge was Madam Justice Carolyn Horkins, and the appeal judges were Mr. Justice Rosenberg, Madam Justice Simmons, and Madam Justice MacFarland.

On June 5, 1997, two-year-old Harvinder Sandu fell through the broken screen in a fifth-floor bedroom apartment. He nearly died in the fall and was in a coma for several weeks. The landlord was found liable for not having repaired the broken screen, despite numerous requests prior to the incident.

The boy will require professional care around the clock for the rest of his life and will never develop a mental age beyond 12 years, which places a huge burden on his family.

At the 2006 trial, the boy, who was represented by lawyer Nancy Ralph, was awarded $12.9 million for future care, as well as $4.2 million for guardianship costs, interest and damages. He received $300,000 for pain and suffering, which is the maximum award allowed in Canadian law. In addition, $100,000 was awarded to each of his older brother, his mother, and his father.

At the Court of Appeal, the defendant asked that the award be reduced, and this argument was rejected.
Since 1986, the Ontario Building Code has required window protection to minimize hazards to children in apartment buildings.