'nervous Shock' Award A First

For the first time in Canada, a man who witnessed a horrific crash that killed three people on a Vancouver-area bridge in 2001 has been awarded damages for suffering "nervous shock."

It was the first ruling of its kind involving an award for shock to someone not related to the victims, lawyer Richard ter Borg explained Wednesday. He said there have been similar court rulings involving a train wreck in England and a mining accident in Australia, but this was a first for Canada. "It was a Pyrrhic victory," ter Borg said.

He explained his client, Nicholas John Arnold, was found to be suffering post-traumatic stress disorder from an event that happened to other people, but the judge awarded damages of $11,000 -- less than the $50,000 offered before trial.

Under court rules, if a person receives at trial less than the formal settlement offer before trial, the plaintiff has to pay the defendant's court costs, ter Borg said, adding that will effectively eat up Arnold's damages award.

Arnold was driving on Sept. 22, 2001 from his Lower Mainland home in Surrey to North Vancouver, where he worked as a yardmaster for CN Rail.

He was driving on the bridge when he noticed a vehicle approaching from behind very fast. The vehicle swerved to miss Arnold's car and crossed into the oncoming lane, hitting a minivan head-on.