British Columbia’s highest court has overturned a lower court’s decision that ordered 7-Eleven Canada to pay Crystal Tommy over $907,000 in damages after she tripped on a pothole and broke her ankle in a store parking lot in Smithers in May 2018. The Appeal Court ruled on Wednesday that the trial judge failed to properly address whether Tommy’s mental health issues were necessarily caused by her physical injuries, ordering a new trial for damage assessment.
B.C. court overturns decision ordering 7-Eleven to pay $900K for pothole injury
Vancouver
AI Summary
TL;DR: Key points with love ❤️British Columbia’s highest court has overturned a lower court’s decision that ordered 7-Eleven Canada to pay Crystal Tommy over $907,000 in damages after she tripped on a pothole and broke her ankle in a store parking lot in Smithers in May 2018. The Appeal Court ruled on Wednesday that the trial judge failed to properly address whether Tommy’s mental health issues were necessarily caused by her physical injuries, ordering a new trial for damage assessment.
- 1 May 2018: Crystal Tommy tripped on a pothole at a 7-Eleven in Smithers, breaking her ankle.
- 2 December 2018: Tommy slipped on stairs, injuring her back, attributing it to her initial fall.
- 3 Coming years (post-2018): Tommy experienced medical complications, a car crash, and two surgeries.
- 4 End of 2022: Tommy stopped working and many social connections fell away, leading to emotional, mental, and financial hardship.
- 5 Last year (2024): 7-Eleven found negligent in B.C. Supreme Court, ordered to pay $907,363 to Tommy.
- 6 April of this year (2025): B.C. Supreme Court judge ordered 7-Eleven to pay double Tommy’s court costs for refusing a settlement offer.
- 7 Wednesday (June 25, 2025): British Columbia’s Appeal Court overturned the lower court's decision and ordered a new trial for damage assessment.
- The original $907,363 award (plus double court costs) is set aside.
- A new trial for damage assessment has been ordered.
- 7-Eleven is declared liable for damages to be assessed.
What: British Columbia’s highest court overturned a lower court's decision ordering 7-Eleven Canada to pay a woman over $900,000 for a pothole injury.
When: Appeal Court ruling on Wednesday (June 25, 2025). Lower court decision last year (2024). Incident occurred in May 2018.
Where: British Columbia, Canada (specifically Smithers for the incident location).
Why: The Appeal Court found that the trial judge erred by not properly assessing the causal link between the physical injury and the mental health issues for which compensation was awarded, thereby undermining the damage assessment.
How: 7-Eleven appealed the B.C. Supreme Court's decision, arguing the judge mistakenly treated mental health injuries as direct consequences without proper causation assessment. The Appeal Court agreed and ordered a new trial for damages.