A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled in favour of the City of Nelson after it was sued by a woman who injured herself stepping into a downtown snowbank four years ago.
Taryn Joy Marchi said the city was liable after the then-28-year-old injured her knee trying to step through a snowbank on the 300 block of Baker Street on Jan. 6, 2015. She was sent to Kootenay Lake Hospital and later transferred to Kelowna.
At the time, the city was working on plowing downtown during a period of heavy snowfall. Marchi was wearing running shoes and said she thought the snowbank would be sufficiently packed to cross.
Justice Mark McEwan ruled on March 8 in Rossland that Nelson’s snow-removal policies were “rational.”
“The plaintiff assumed the risk of crossing the snowbank and an unfortunate accident followed,” wrote McEwan in his decision. “She was the author of her own misfortune and I see no way that the city can be blamed for the accident.”
Marchi’s lawsuit was only related to liability. She had already agreed on damages with the city, the specifics of which were not made public in the ruling.
