Manitoba school division to pay teacher more than $80K following injury involving student

WINNIPEG -

A Manitoba teacher is being paid more than $80,000 by a Virden school division after she was injured following an incident with a student.

The incident happened back on Oct. 16, 2015, at Virden Collegiate Institute, which is part of the Fort La Bosse School Division. A judgment was released on October 25, 2021.

A Court of Queen's Bench judge heard that 66-year-old Emma Lou Evanson, who was a substitute teacher at the school, was trying to get into a back door at 8:15 a.m., which was locked, when two students came out the door, knocking Evanson over.

Evanson broke her hip and required surgery. She was in the hospital until Nov. 25 and stayed with her daughter who helped care for her until around Jan. 20, 2016.

The court heard the incident all started because the then 16-year-old student and their teammate arrived at school early because they were going to an out-of-town volleyball tournament and their coach was going to drive them.

The coach asked them to go inside and grab a bag of volleyballs and the students were told to hurry as they were running late.

Once grabbing the balls, the students "speed walked" to the back exit which was near the staff parking lot.

The 16-year-old student was the one to open the door, but because his hands were full, he used his hip to open it.

At this time, the court heard Evanson was bending down to put her key into the locked door and that's when it swung open and hit her, knocking her to the ground.

The student was not deemed responsible for the accident as Justice Deborah McCawley noted he wouldn't have been able to properly see out the small window on the door.

"I am satisfied that, in these circumstances, the fact that (the student) failed to stop, put down the volleyballs, and his gym bag and stand on his tippy toes to see through the small window prior to exiting the building or engage in the other possible precautions put to him when, unbeknownst to him, Ms. Evanson was inserting her key on the other side of the door, does not constitute negligence or a lapse of judgment on his part," wrote McCawley.

"Students at the school were allowed to exit through the back door using the crash bar, but could not enter that way because it required a key. It is also clear that students were not permitted but were encouraged to use the back to exit so as to avoid congestion at the main entrance."

She noted many people have been on the side of a fast opening door and are surprised by it opening and the teen was not responsible.

McCawley also determined Evanson was not to blame for the incident as she too would not have been able to see through the small window and this was also the closest door to get to her classroom.

"It was not unreasonable for her to choose the door closest to where she parked that was also closest to her classroom and avoid the additional number of steps that would be required."

McCawley did determine that the Fort La Bosse School Division was 100 per cent liable for the incident and the door should have been viewed as a risk.

Evanson is getting $45,000 in general damages, $13,893.46 for loss of income-earning capacity, $20,725.34 for health claims and $300 for miscellaneous reasons.

She is also being awarded three per cent of the general damages cost for the loss of opportunity to invest.