B.C. man denied $5,000 payout after customer's speaker fell on him at SkyTrain station: CRT decision

Columbia SkyTrain Station in New Westminster is seen in this undated image from Google Maps.

A B.C. man won't get $5,000 from a local transit company after a speaker fell on him at a SkyTrain station, the province's Civil Resolution Tribunal ruled.

The decision, posted Tuesday, said Muhhamed Shabbir claimed thousands in damages for lost income, medical expenses, and pain and suffering after he was struck by a speaker at the Columbia SkyTrain Station in November 2019.

The tribunal heard Shabbir was standing at the bottom of a staircase while someone walking down was carrying a speaker inside a plastic bag. The bag broke and the speaker fell down the set of stairs, hitting Shabbir, he told the tribunal.

The impact reportedly led to injuries on Shabbir's shin, toe, neck, shoulders and arms.

But B.C. Rapid Transit Company, which the complaint was filed against, argued it "can't reasonably police what every passenger carries," adding that "thousands of passengers travel through its SkyTrain system daily, carrying all manner of objects."

Tribunal member Shelley Lopez wrote in her decision B.C. Rapid Transit Company does owe its customers a duty of care, to an extent. In this case, she did not find the transit company breached that standard of care.

Lopez said she watched video of the incident, and found the person's "plastic bag breaking was not something the respondent should have anticipated or prevented."

"The applicant's submission is that the respondent should have safety measures in place to force commuters to bring large objects in a secured box," she wrote.

Lopez also determined Shabbir didn't provide adequate evidence of his injuries or alleged lost income, saying it appeared from the video that the speaker only hit his shin.

As a result of her findings, Lopez dismissed Shabbir's claim entirely.