Woman wins over $1M for hockey puck injury after appeal dismissed

British Columbia's highest court has ruled a Vancouver Island woman who was struck by a hockey puck 10 years ago should be awarded more than $1 million.

Sherry Lynn Matthews sued the City of Langford, an arena operator and a local hockey team over her injuries — and a jury sided with her last year. The decision was appealed, with the defendants arguing the payout was disproportionate to Matthews's injuries and wages.

But on Thursday the B.C. Court of Appeal unanimously agreed to dismiss the appeal.

"We welcome the B.C. Court of Appeal's decision, and with it, the end of a long legal saga for Ms. Matthews," her lawyer Keith Schille told CBC News. 

"The decision rightfully recognizes … the profound injuries and losses Ms. Matthews has faced over the past decade."

'Not the same person'

In 2014, Matthews, then 60, was sitting in the bleachers watching her son play in a roller hockey game when a puck was shot through a break in the safety netting and hit her over her right eye, court heard during the 2023 hearing in B.C. Supreme Court.

Matthews experienced nausea, headaches and light sensitivity in the following days, according to court records.

Medical experts testified that she suffered a mild traumatic brain injury, leading to a neurocognitive disorder and other health problems.

Her family and a former co-worker also said her personality changed after the incident.

"She was observed to be depressed, lacking in motivation and concentration, confused and forgetful, and not the same person," wrote Justice Karen Horsman in the Court of Appeal decision.

Court heard that Matthews quit her job selling and leasing credit and debit card processing terminals to businesses in 2019 after deciding she couldn't do the job competently. She briefly worked as a part-time florist during the pandemic, then didn't work at all in the two years before the trial, according to the decision.

Why $1.05M?

Court heard Matthews was previously a very successful salesperson who made $44,646 in gross commission in four months before she was hit by the puck. She said she was supposed to get a lucrative contract around the time she was injured.

The former director of business development at Matthews's company testified that she stood to "significantly increase her income" through the contract and could potentially make up to $400,000 annually from residuals alone.

A jury awarded Matthews $1.05 million, including $804,000 for loss of past earning capacity and $175,000 for pain and suffering.

The city and other parties being sued took issue with those two specific payments, saying the wage loss payout wasn't in line with her past earnings and the other payment was not proportionate to Matthews's circumstances.

They argued she was unlikely to have had much success in her sales and that her injuries were relatively minor. 

But Court of Appeal judges ruled the jury was "properly instructed" and "acting judicially" when deciding on the $804,000 award, adding that the $175,000 payout was not "wholly disproportionate or shockingly unreasonable."

"It must be assumed that the jury found the respondent's injuries to be devastating, ongoing and likely permanently disabling," Horsman wrote.

The City of Langford, other defendants and their lawyers did not respond to requests for comment from CBC News.