Mike was a 52-year old government employee at the time of his accident. Before that, he’d worked as a cashier and as a paramedic until a workplace injury forced him to switch professions. He was in a committed common-law relationship with his partner of 8 years and father to a son just out of high school. Mike had a history of depression and stress which required psychiatric help and medication, and at the time of the accident, he was just returning to work after a partial knee replacement to alleviate arthritic pain.

THE ACCIDENT

Mike and his partner were on a flight returning from a well-deserved vacation in Bali. He was sitting on the aisle, and as the flight was turbulent, he had taken Gravol and had fallen asleep. He was woken by a heavy object falling on his arm and immediately felt pain. The object was an airline medical supply case which had fallen from an overhead bin during turbulence.

Mike’s right arm was sore, and there was a big red mark where the case had landed on him - he immediately had difficulty lifting with that arm which went on to bruise badly. Once he got home he visited his family doctor – he still had pain in his arm as well as numbness and tingling on hand. Things didn’t improve much, and eventually, he was referred to a neurologist, who diagnosed complex regional pain syndrome. In the following months, Mike found things at work really tough due to his injuries and eventually it was recommended that he take a leave of absence.

HOW WE HELPED

Although the airline tried to limit their liability for what had happened, we sued the airline on Mike’s behalf and were successful in obtaining a substantial settlement from them for him. This included compensation for his lost earnings and for his reduced capacity to work in the future, as well as for medical, future care and other costs.

AFTER THE ACCIDENT

Since the claim settled, Mike has continued with his recovery. He has also been able to move on with his life using some of the settlement proceeds to purchase a property outside of the city where he now resides comfortably with his common law partner.