Sask. man awarded $6.7M in damages for 2006 attack

This summer, it will be 14 years since a 16-year-old boy who was camping at Clear Lake in Manitoba was attacked with firewood and suffered life-altering injuries.

Now, the courts have awarded the victim more than $6.7 million in damages from the incident in Manitoba’s Riding Mountain National Park.

According to court documents, the teen was camping with friends when he was attacked, without provocation, by Tyler Kozakowski, who was 18 at the time. Media reports from the time say it was a feud between two campsites.

The victim was taken to hospital in Winnipeg and underwent several surgeries which left him in a vegetative state for a time.

He improved enough to be transferred to Regina and underwent intensive physiotherapy at Wascana Rehabilitation Centre to relearn things like controlling his bodily functions, holding his head up, and verbally communicating.

Six months after the attack, he went home to live with his mother and she has been taking care of him ever since.

Kozakowski was convicted of aggravated assault and served 30 months in jail. He was informed of the pre-trial hearings but didn’t attend most and didn’t show up for the trial. Documents note no defence was presented.

Assessments done of the victim and presented in court said he suffered a severe brain injury which affected his memory, cognitive ability and adaptive functioning. His mother said he’s socially vulnerable and child-like, and she’s concerned his condition is deteriorating.

The statement of claim on the suit was filed in 2008, but the damages were only calculated in April.

Most of the court documents are taken up with accountings for damages — between what the victim and his family were asking for and what the judge determined were appropriate. They include things like past and future cost of care, loss of income for the victim’s mother and the victim, and unquantifiable damages.

The judge awarded $4,462,264 for the victim’s loss of income alone, based on his father’s earnings as a millwright.

Altogether, $6,719,039.44 was awarded to the victim, plus pre-judgment interest and the taxable costs of the action.