A mother who was unable to return to work after being hit on the head with an ice pick while waiting for a bus is suing the STM for more than a million dollars.
“I’m a person who likes to work. I’ve moved a lot […] Now, even with homework for the kids, I can’t do it,” says 49-year-old Shilene Orelas Vieques.
Like almost every day, she was waiting for the bus at the Henri-Pourassa station terminus to go home after work, when on November 21, 2019, snow and ice came from the roof and hit her on the head.
After getting on the bus I had to be taken away by ambulance due to pain and confusion.
Three years later, she still hasn’t recovered from the traumatic brain injury she suffered, and probably never will.
“I can be with you and suddenly cut off”, explains the daily sufferer of headaches, memory loss, insomnia, sensitivity to noise and light.
Photo by Pierre-Paul Poulin
At bus stop 48, she was waiting when the barrier fell on her head.
She can no longer drive. Traveling by bus is dangerous. She has to wear a cervical collar to walk.
Mrs. Orelas and her husband launched a civil suit against the Société de Transporte de Montreal (STM) last March for a total of $1.27 million.
His doctors told him that his disability would be “permanent” in 2021, we can read the lawsuit.
Nursing by profession
Before the accident, he was a team leader in a security firm. She also worked as a nurse in Haiti before coming to Quebec fifteen years ago. She informed her boss that she wanted to do the same for her training here.
“When I said I was disabled, I didn’t want to accept my condition […] A social worker followed me to mourn [de la personne que j’étais]. »
The mother of three children aged 10 to 21 explains, “My husband has to work two jobs to support the family.
No snow
The STM first tried to clear the file with a claim of inadmissibility, arguing that the woman was about to get into the vehicle when it fell into court with the Société de l’Assurance Automobile du Québec (SAAQ). .
However, the Supreme Court rejected this petition on December 21. So the file can follow its course.
“It’s not uncommon for someone to walk next to a building and put an ice pack on their head […] Necessarily, because it is [il y a eu défaut d’entretien] Or the roof is poorly designed,” explains attorney on file Jimmy Lambert.
For its part, STM indicated by email that it is analyzing the court’s decision to reject the request for inadmissibility.
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