The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

A SUPREME Court judge has awarded nearly $180,000 to a former spa worker who suffered a lasting neck injury after the Golden Rule jitney she was riding in slammed into the back of a car more than 12 years ago.

Justice Camille Darville-Gomez entered judgment for Kyrenia Newbold-Roberts in the net sum of $179,758.34 against Shandwick Taylor and Kirkwood Smith, trading as Golden Rule Bus Service, over the December 6, 2013 crash.

The ruling closes a long-running damages fight in a case where liability was formally conceded in April 2022, but the court still had to decide how much of Mrs Newbold-Roberts’ pain, medical problems and lost income could fairly be laid at the defendants’ feet.

Mrs Newbold-Roberts was a fare-paying passenger on a Golden Rule jitney driven by Mr Taylor when the bus collided with the rear of a Kia Sportage. She alleged the crash was caused by Mr Taylor’s negligence and that Mr Smith, as the bus operator, was vicariously liable.

Her claim, filed in October 2016, accused Mr Taylor of failing to drive with due care and attention, failing to maintain a safe distance, and failing to stop in time. She also accused Mr Smith of failing to properly train Mr Taylor in safe driving techniques and maintaining a safe distance between the bus and other vehicles.

The defendants formally conceded liability nearly six years after the claim was filed. Justice Indra Charles entered judgment on liability in April 2022, leaving damages to be assessed.

Justice Darville-Gomez awarded Mrs Newbold-Roberts $50,000 for pain, suffering and loss of amenities; $12,000 for past loss of earnings; $19,200 for future loss of earnings; $3,197.02 in special damages; and $33,327.07 for future surgery. The gross award was $207,729.09, but the judge deducted $27,970.75 for payments already received from insurers and the National Insurance Board.

The judgment shows the court accepted that Mrs Newbold-Roberts suffered an acute cervical injury in the crash and that her complaints of persistent neck pain were genuine. However, the judge rejected the broader claim that all her long-term symptoms and financial losses flowed from the accident.

The court heard that she underwent repeated medical treatment, including consultations with several doctors, and that some specialists recommended cervical surgery. Her counsel sought substantial damages, including $100,000 for pain and suffering, more than $200,000 for past loss of earnings, more than $296,000 for future loss of earnings, $100,000 under what is known as a Smith v Manchester award for disadvantage in the labour market, and more than $100,000 for future medical expenses.

On the central medical issue, Justice Darville-Gomez found that the claimant sustained a moderate cervical injury, including a whiplash-type injury with significant pain and residual symptoms, and that the accident aggravated or rendered symptomatic an underlying degenerative cervical condition. She said the accident was not the sole cause of all the claimant’s complaints, but she was satisfied that the present complaints could be laid entirely at the defendants’ door.

The judge was unsparing about delay.

Although the crash happened in December 2013 and the writ was filed in October 2016, the defendants were not served until three years later. An application for interim payment was made in 2017 but was not supported by affidavit until 2024. The matter also lay dormant after the defendants’ 2022 admission of liability.

Justice Darville-Gomez said the responsibility for prosecuting the claim lay with Mrs Newbold-Roberts and refused to award interest before judgment, even though she found the defendants had been reluctant to settle.

The judge also refused to give Mrs Newbold-Roberts full costs. Although she succeeded in the action, the court said she did not recover close to what she had claimed. The court ordered the defendants to pay 60 percent of her costs, to be assessed if not agreed.

Judgment was entered for Newbold-Roberts in the sum of $179,758.34, with interest at 2.5 per cent from the date of judgment. The defendants must also pay her costs on the limited basis ordered by the court.