Pikangikum woman injured after security door suddenly closed on her at Winnipeg airport: lawsuit

A woman who suffered a fall when a security door suddenly closed on her as she was about to board an aircraft for a flight out of Winnipeg has filed a lawsuit because of the injuries she experienced.

The woman, an elder from Pikangikum First Nation in northwestern Ontario, was taking a charter flight with Superior Airways to get home from Winnipeg, says her statement of claim, filed Jan. 23 in Manitoba Court of King's Bench.

The 79-year-old woman was leaving from the Fast Air Jet Centre terminal in Winnipeg when the accident happened in February 2023, the suit says.

She was passing through an electronic security door, using a handheld cane, "when the door suddenly and unexpectedly closed on her, causing her to collapse in a traumatic and devastating fall," according to her lawsuit.

Witnesses at the scene rushed to help her. The elder "was in extreme pain," the claim says, but was assisted onto the charter flight.

Upon arrival, she was immediately taken to the nursing station in Pikangikum, a remote community about 320 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg accessible by air and winter road, where she was seen by a doctor and nurses. 

They determined "she had serious injuries, including having possibly broken her hip," and was immediately medevaced to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre, the lawsuit says.

It says the extent of her injuries and treatment remains unclear because medical records from the Pikangikum nursing station and two other health facilities in northwest Ontario have been difficult to access.

The woman has had surgery and will continue to undergo treatment and therapy as a result of her injuries, the claim says.

'Constant discomfort': lawyer

It includes a list of harms the plaintiff allegedly suffered, such as physical and emotional pain, humiliation and indignity, loss of enjoyment of life, anxiety, loss of ability to function normally, major depression and helplessness, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress disorder, among other effects. 

The lawsuit seeks general, special, aggravated and punitive damages of $800,000, plus interest and costs.

In addition to Fast Air Jet Centre Inc., the lawsuit names Fast Air Ltd., Winnipeg Airports Authority and Superior Airways as defendants.

Although it's been two years since the accident happened, the plaintiff's lawyer, Doug Keshen, told CBC News that "she is not doing well."

Keshen said his client "was a very independent person….known to be very independent-minded," but now has lost much of that independence, though her family is hopeful that she'll regain that. 

"Now she's in constant discomfort and sometimes serious pain," Keshen said, noting she usually uses a wheelchair or a walker to get around. 

"Sometimes she feels OK, but she can't really do her own shopping and housework."

She has also been unable to "participate in gatherings of the elders to offer traditional knowledge on some of their priority matter issues," which has always been important to her, Keshen said.

The allegations have not been tested in court and the defendants have not filed defence statements. 

A lawyer for the defendants, Stuart Blake, told CBC News he had no comment.

Winnipeg Airports Authority vice-president of external affairs Tyler MacAfee said in a statement to CBC the authority is aware of the lawsuit "and will let the legal process unfold."