Five people died in the landslide on November 15, 2021 — including parents Mirsad and Anita Hadsic. After a rare weekend away from their two-year-old daughter, the Hadsics were stuck in Vernon during the historic rain event. There was only one open road that could lead them back to their little girl, who lived with her grandmother in Metro Vancouver: Duffey Lake Road. “Obviously they would have preferred another route, but DriveBC told them that morning that the only road available to get back to the Lower Mainland was via Duffey Lake Road, so they went,” said Vancouver lawyer Robert Gibbens. The Hadsics’ vehicle was among dozens stuck on the road after a small mudslide blocked the route to Pemberton. They died, along with three others, when a huge wall of mud and debris collapsed minutes later. “The cause of the accident we allege was not only that DriveBC said and funneled people into that area, but that the logging road above was improperly decommissioned,” Gibbens said. He says that made the route more prone to landslides, something government officials should have known when deciding which roads to close. Gibbens has filed a lawsuit against a road contractor and the county on behalf of the Hadsics’ daughter, identified in court documents by the initials ZH “Grandma had to quit her job to take care of the little girl,” Gibbens said. “Hopefully we can get some money to help her raise this child.” In a statement, the Department for Transport and Infrastructure said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the loved ones who lost their lives in last year’s mudslides. On the details of the lawsuit, it would be inappropriate to comment as it is currently before the courts.”
CLASS ACTION ATTORNEY CERTIFICATION
While Gibbens’ suit is on behalf of the little girl who lost her parents in the mudslide, he has also been asked to be certified as a class action so he can seek compensation for other victims. He has been in contact with the family of another man who died and others who were injured and injured in the mudslide. “People lost cars, people were taken to Pemberton Hospital later, people got covered in mud. It’s been a traumatic experience for a lot of people, and if they had to take action individually, it wouldn’t make much sense,” Gibbens said. A judge will rule on the class action application next April. No matter what happens, Gibbens said his civil suit on behalf of ZH will continue. “The little girl is so young, she will probably never meet her parents,” he said. “Money is an inappropriate measure of these things, but it’s the best we can do.”
