City has settled $23M in Westboro bus crash claims, but more remain

Five years after the tragic double-decker bus crash that killed three passengers and injured dozens, the City of Ottawa's outside lawyers have paid out more than $23.5 million in claims and are still mediating more .

While most of that cost is borne by its insurers, the city is responsible for a $6-million deductible.

Twenty cases stemming from the Jan. 11, 2019 tragedy have already been settled, including those brought by the families of Judy Booth, Bruce Thomlinson and Anja Van Beek.

They died when the packed rush hour bus left the road at Westboro station, struck a snowbank and rock wall and slammed into a bus shelter awning.

Howard Yegendorf, a partner with the Ottawa-based Yegendorf Rashid injury law firm that's handled many of the claims by crash victims, said survivors remain severely traumatized and physically impaired.

"I'm in touch with many of our clients whose cases have ended and it's not something that goes away," he said, noting the burden is also borne by those closest to them.

"You're dealing with loved ones suffering, rehabilitating themselves, physically, financially … it's extremely, extremely tough."

Many of the lawyers still engaged in negotiations with the city's counsel opted not to be interviewed, but noted the full extent of lingering trauma is in some cases still unknown.

No civil trials so far

Aissatou Diallo was found not guilty in 2021 of 38 dangerous driving charges. The decision noted misleading road markings, a setting sun and a snow-filled gutter as factors.

The criminal case does not affect claims for compensation brought by 35 passengers in the months and years after the crash, for which the city publicly accepted responsibility in early 2020.

Accepting liability simplified the process and has so far saved the city from defending itself at a civil trial. City solicitor David White wrote in a statement to CBC three cases were resolved without a statement of claim even being filed.

"It's streamlined the process and it was a good and reasonable thing for the city to admit liability," said Yegendorf. "However, the city really didn't have much of a choice … It's their Transitway, it's their bus, it's their driver."

A rose and a note are left at Westboro station to remember each of the three people who died in the bus crash. Commuters Bruce Thomlinson, Judy Booth and Anja Van Beek were killed that day. (Amanda Pfeffer/CBC)

David Levy, a partner with Toronto-based Howie, Sacks and Henry LLP, is not personally representing any of the crash victims, but has specialized in catastrophic personal injury claims for 25 years.

He said the strategy is both legal and political, with institutions much more likely to go this route after a high-profile incident.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Levy said. "Drawing these things out sometimes leads to frustration for the victims and their families."

The city's insurers also advanced money to several people mid-negotiation to cover their immediate financial needs.

Process emotionally devastating, lawyer says

All of the lawyers reached for comment by CBC commended the outside council hired by the city for being both co-operative and professional.

That doesn't mean the process has been any less difficult for those directly involved.

"It could be quite devastating," Yegendorf said. "It's a very, very emotionally draining experience for the plaintiffs."

The 32 statements of claim filed against the city after the crash paint a horrifying picture of the disaster, describing how the force of the collision opened a hole in the roof through which several people were ejected, resulting in a complex array of physical wounds.

Several explain the actions taken in the split-second of recognition of what was about to happen, including people who leapt from their seats.

One tells how a person on the upper level pushed a passenger away from the awning just before impact, only to be pinned within the wreckage where she remained for over an hour waiting to be rescued.

"It was extremely cold and the bus smelled of fuel, blood and other bodily fluids," the court document states. "She was afraid the bus would explode into fire. She heard excruciating screams of pain and fear from other passengers."

'More than a number'

Elsewhere, passengers had concussions and broken bones after being pushed out of their seats.

The trauma sparked psychological effects including nightmares, sensitivity to light and sound, an ongoing inability to concentrate, anxiety and depression.

The impact affected not only their work, but all aspects of their lives including their ability to be parent their children. In many cases, spouses and other family members have become caregivers.

Emergency crews responding to the Westboro bus crash in the moments after a double-decker OC Transpo bus struck the overhang of a bus shelter during afternoon rush hour on Jan. 11, 2019. (Matthew Kupfer/CBC)

"My law firm has been involved in some of the litigation arising from this terrible accident," said David Levy.

"And when you get to know the victims and their families, you just realize that this is more than a number. It's more than a lawsuit. It's about individuals and it's about dramatic changes of their lives."

That creates an inherent imbalance between the plaintiffs, whose lives are irrevocably changed, and the insurer, which sees the cases as "strictly business," he said.

Levy said it's frustratingly common for personal injury cases to last longer than five years, both because of their complexity and the overburdening of the court system.

He suggested some of the victims could have much longer to wait.