A young mother of two who was left with debilitating injuries after bleachers at a sporting event toppled onto her head is suing the City of Shawinigan for nearly $7 million in damages.
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The incident has left the former nurse unable to work for the rest of her life, her lawsuit states, and robbed her of the ability to enjoy a normal family life with her children.
Kathy Morissette Genois, 36, was at a park belonging to the city to watch her seven-year-old daughter compete in a cross-country racing event in September 2023. According to the lawsuit, as she was walking behind a small set of steel bleachers, they toppled over backward and struck her on the head. The force of the blow knocked her unconscious and pinned her underneath the bleachers. Witnesses had to lift them to free her. Other spectators were also injured in the incident, the lawsuit states.
Morissette Genois was taken to a hospital by ambulance, where she was diagnosed with a concussion and a neck and back sprain. Before the injuries, she was a physically active nurse who regularly worked overtime and volunteered at her children’s school. She was a kayaker and was learning taekwondo. She worked full time as a head nurse, while also studying to complete her bachelor’s in nursing science. Her salary was the family’s main source of revenue.
Since the incident, the lawsuit states, “Kathy is no longer the same.” More than a year later, she needs to nap several hours a day and take medication due to fatigue caused by constant pain in her neck and back. It’s difficult for her to sit at a computer for long periods, and she can’t walk for more than 25 minutes at a time.
“Most important is the fact she has cognitive issues,” said Jonathan Gottlieb of the Montreal-based Kugler Kandestin law firm. “She has difficulty concentrating, difficulty remembering things and an inability to deal with loud noises. And with that obviously comes the whole psychological distress. … We’re now 15 months after the incident, so the realization that her injuries are most likely permanent has set in.
“Her life is a nightmare.”
She had been scheduled to complete her bachelor’s degree in the spring of 2024, but found she was no longer able to study, even with the help of her colleagues.
“Presently, her medical portrait indicates she will never be able to restart her work, or any other type of work,” the lawsuit reads. The suit, filed in Quebec Superior Court, is demanding $4.8 million to cover estimated lost wages for the rest of her life, as well as $1.5 million to cover the professional investment fees related to managing her money. The family is also requesting $125,000 for her husband for the stress and anxiety caused by the incident, and $75,000 for each child, “who will have to live with the fact that their mother is different since the accident, that they can no longer do the same activities together, and that the dynamic and the quality of the family have been affected.”
Another $25,000 is requested for the suffering and loss of joy experienced by Morissette Genois’s mother.
“The infrastructure had to be safe in the municipality, and it wasn’t,” Gottlieb said. “You can’t have infrastructure that’s falling apart.”
Photos show the municipality added support structures to the bleachers after the incident to prevent future accidents, Gottlieb noted.
Given the fact Morissette Genois was the main breadwinner for the family, they have been suffering financial stresses on top of the other suffering caused by the incident, Gottlieb said.
“I wish the municipality would offer to make some sort of interim payment to the family just so they can sustain themselves throughout this process. Especially since it’s a municipality — we’re not dealing with the corporation here; we’re dealing with the municipality that kind of should want the best for its citizens.”
Officials with the City of Shawinigan said they would not comment on the case.
Gottlieb said the lawsuit could take more than a year to be settled.