Man who lost leg in fall will keep $1 million

Melissa Lampman - Kamloops This Week Published: May 20, 2010

The city’s new McGill composting/recycling facility on Bunker Road has many safety features that were lacking at the former site and which have since been established at the Mission Flats landfill operation

A previous court ruling will remain in a $1-million judgment in favour of a local man whose leg had to be amputated after a fall at the City of Kamloops’ Mission Flats landfill. In the B.C. Court of Appeal in Vancouver on Tuesday, May 18, applications from the City of Kamloops and Stantec Consulting Ltd. to re-examine the liability in the fall of Rod Lovely were dismissed.In October 2009, B.C. Supreme Court Justice David Masuhara found the city and Stantec — the engineers who designed the landfill — to be 55 per cent and 35 per cent at fault, respectively. Lovely was found to be 10 per cent at fault and was awarded more than $1 million in damages. Appellate Justice Anne Rowles is expected to give reasons for the judgment next week.

In October 2006, the 53-year-old Lovely was unloading garbage from the landfill’s upper deck, lost his balance from a platform and fell nearly three metres, breaking both his legs in the fall. Later, one of his legs had to be amputated. “I just want to close this part of the book and get on with my life,” Lovely told KTW. “It’s been a wild three years since my accident. I’m just trying to carry on.” In April, the city increased safety measures at the site to include a new railing atop the retaining wall, an increase in the distance between vehicles and the wall and more signage warning of possible dangers. The city’s new McGill composting/recycling facility has similar features. Making sure an accident like his never happens again is key for Lovely, who was pleased to hear about the safety improvements.“I just get shivers running down my back. It’s for the safety of other people,” he said. “You just take it for granted you’re going to come home at the end of the day.”