Second lawsuit filed over child’s injuries suffered in Fort Gibraltar walkway collapse

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This article was published 05/02/2024 (579 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A second family has filed a lawsuit alleging a child suffered debilitating injuries last May during a school field trip to Fort Gibraltar.

A civil suit filed Feb. 1 in the Court of King’s Bench alleges an 11-year-old boy has lost the use of his “whole left hand, wrist and arm” due to nerve damaged he suffered when an elevated platform collapsed and 28 people fell to the ground from a distance of approximately six metres (19.6 feet).

The incident sent 17 children and an adult to hospital.

The child’s parents are seeking undetermined damages from the City of Winnipeg, Festival du Voyageur and Fort Gibraltar Dining Corp. All three defendants are stakeholders in the fort, located at 866 Rue St. Joseph in Whittier Park.

The lawsuit is the second filed by parents of children allegedly facing long-term consequences from their injuries.

“In the weeks and months post-incident, the plaintiff has been unable to make a full recovery,” says the statement of claim from lawyers Jason Harvey and Sadira Garfinkel of Tapper Cuddy LLP.

“His ability to perform basic tasks such as dressing himself, performing routine hygiene, eating and playing have been significantly affected. It is unknown at this time if the nerve injury will improve, or if surgery will be necessary.”

The claim alleges the defendants demonstrated “reckless and wilful disregard” for public safety by failing to ensure the various buildings and structures erected at the fort were secure, maintained and routinely inspected.

“At all material times, the City, Festival and Gibraltar knew they were inviting the public onto the property and into the fort,” the suit says. “As such, they had a heightened duty at law to take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of visitors to the property.”

The injured child was among a group of Grade 5 students from St. John’s-Ravenscourt School who were visiting the site May 31 when two sections of a platform that ran along the fort’s walls collapsed.

The boy was taken by ambulance to Children’s Hospital with a fractured left arm. He remained at the hospital for several hours undergoing precautionary tests before being discharged and sent home with his parents, the documents say.

He later began losing mobility in the affected arm, beginning with a loss of sensation in some of his fingers. He was then diagnosed with a nerve injury, the suit alleges.

In addition to physical debilitation, the child has experienced mental distress, behavioural changes, headaches and psychological trauma as a result of the fall, it says.

The parents of another injured child filed a separate lawsuit in early August against Festival du Voyageur, which operates the fort, and the city, which owns the land, similarly alleging the two institutions were negligent and breached their duties.

The child in that lawsuit allegedly needed surgery to repair fractures in his right wrist and left hip, and is at risk of permanent disability.

Both parties responded with statements of defence in November, denying legal responsibility in the claim.

At the time, the city said it had no knowledge of the extent of the student’s injuries and denied any responsibility for the state of the walkway.

Festival du Voyageur offered a similar statement, arguing it was not aware of the child’s injuries and had taken reasonable care and effort to ensure the fort was safe for visitors, including following inspection and maintenance protocols in co-operation with the city.

A city spokesperson previously told the Free Press the last confirmed city building inspection at Fort Gibraltar was done in 2006, following repairs to the walkway in 2004. Both the city and Festival later denied this claim in their respective statements of defence.

On Monday, the city said it had not yet been served with the latest statement of claim and could not comment on the proceedings. A spokesperson from Festival du Voyageur also had no comment.

Fort Gibraltar Dining Corp. did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

None of the defendants have provided a statement of defence related to the most recent lawsuit. None of the claims against the parties have been tested in court.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca