On Christmas Eve 2019, Daniel Barcelo was walking to work at CFB Esquimalt when he was hit in a crosswalk by a truck driven by a Department of National Defence employee.
The light at the intersection of Esquimalt and Canteen roads was green for Barcelo. The crosswalk signal was working. And Barcelo was well into the crosswalk walk when he was hit by the DND truck and ended up in the hospital for 18 days.
Barcelo was diagnosed with a significant traumatic brain injury, a fractured skull, vertigo and chronic headaches. Now 70, he has never been well enough to return to work at the base because of ongoing vertigo related to the collision.
The former marine industrial labourer has launched a civil suit against the DND employee who was driving the truck and against the Attorney General of Canada, seeking compensation for his injuries and lost employment. DND vehicles are insured by the federal government and not by ICBC.
The trial is scheduled to start June 27 in B.C. Supreme Court.
However, lawyers for the government have applied to stay the trial and send the case to the Civil Resolution Tribunal. They are alleging Barcelo’s injuries are minor, which means the compensation is capped at $5,500 per injury.
Victoria lawyer Richard Neary, who is representing Barcelo, will oppose the government’s application at a hearing Friday morning. Barcelo’s injuries are not minor and experts on both sides agree he has a traumatic brain injury, said Neary.
“It’s reprehensible of the government to try and deny this man his day in court,” said Neary. “It’s twisting this legislation in a very frightening way.”
Lawyers acting for the defendants declined comment.
“That accident has ruined my life,” said Barcelo, who drove to the base Wednesday and met with former co-workers who have offered him support. “The guy that I was when I got up on Dec. 24, 2019, no longer exists. I can no longer do the things I like to do. I get dizzy. I get nauseous. I lose my balance. The worst thing is the dizziness. My alarm goes off and I roll over in the bed. Well, the whole room starts to spin.”
Barcelo said he had always been healthy and strong, working as a volunteer firefighter for 17 years. Since the accident, he’s gained 50 pounds, suffers from headaches and upset stomach and can no longer even go up a two-step ladder to change a lightbulb without falling backwards.
“I’m not fine,” said Barcelo, his eyes filling with tears. “A buddy of mine took me fishing and I was seasick in about 30 minutes and I was throwing up the whole time and I don’t think he’s ever going to take me fishing again. I’ve got this vestibular thing.”
Barcelo, who lost his wife in 2017 to ALS after 47 years of marriage, said that loss was devastating, but the way he has been treated since the collision has been almost as bad.
“The last five years have just been hell,” said Barcelo, who had planned to work until he was 70. “The government’s reaction to this accident, which was their fault, has left me unhappy, angry and disillusioned with the country I used to love.”
