The University of Regina says it’s considering its next move after losing an appeal of an earlier verdict that found the school liable after a teen was paralyzed diving into the university’s pool.
A spokesman says the institution respects the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal‘s ruling and is talking with its lawyers and insurer over possible terms and timing of payment.
Miranda Biletski, a Paralympian, was a 16-year-old member of the Regina Piranha Swim Club in 2005 when she dove into the pool from competition starting blocks during a practice and hit the bottom.
Biletski fractured her cervical vertebrae and was awarded more than nine million dollars in damages.
The university had argued at trial in October 2017 that the pool’s depth and the height of the starting blocks met Swimming Canada guidelines, and that Biletski did a bad dive.
Court was told the person responsible for pool maintenance only added water one time in the two months leading up to Biletski’s accident.
Biletski went on to become the first woman on Canada’s wheelchair rugby team, playing with the Team Canada squad at world championships and at the 2016 Rio Olympics.