A Hanover resident is looking for an apology, three years after suffering an injury while on the job as a delivery driver.
Ashleigh Heidi, who works for Purolator, was injured while on the loading dock at Brightshores Owen Sound, and she told Bayshore News that she hasn’t heard so much as a simple apology for the incident.
Now, Heidi is sharing her story with Bayshore News.
Heidi says the injury happened in July 2023, when she was returning from maternity leave after having her second child.
Heidi and her assigned driver were sent out to do deliveries, and their first stop was at Owen Sound hospital.
“I was standing where I thought was safe. An employee at Owen Sound hospital was moving skids. Due to their negligence of not making sure that the skid was secure or anything around it was secure, they moved the skid, and a two-to-three-hundred-pound beam – wooden beam – came crashing onto my spine, fracturing my spine,” she explained.
Heidi refused treatment in Owen Sound, and instead went to Hanover & District Hospital, which was the hospital closest to her home and childcare.
She decided to wait until she was closer to home because she knew that she would have to pick her children up from child care later in the day, and wanted to be closer to them while hoping to have been finished being seen in time.
Heidi had x-rays completed, and was diagnosed with crush fracture around her T4 vertebra, which is located in the upper back, between the shoulder blades.
“It has altered my life completely. I don’t get to be the mom I want to be. I don’t make the same job-wise because everything has been altered. I’m on a medication that I can’t seem to go without. I’m in constant pain. And no one is being held accountable,” said Heidi. “My job is trying to push me out with suitable job positions after three years of waiting around, that is not within my needs or my child’s lifestyle, a.k.a. school and child care. I’ve not heard anything, not even an apology from the Owen Sound hospital.”
Since the injury, Heidi experiences persistent pain, and was informed by a surgeon that surgical procedures would not be able to repair the damage that was done.
“The surgeon says that I’ve reached plateau. I’m at as much healing as possible now, so I have permanent restrictions.”
The injury not only affects her ability to complete regular activities of daily living and perform the regular duties of her job, but it also changed the way she was able to parent her children, who are now almost four and six years old.
When she was finishing her maternity leave, her youngest child wasn’t quite at the point of walking yet, and due to the injury, she was unable to pick him up like a typical parent would have.
She also has restrictions for how long she can walk, usually no more than 60 minutes at a time.
“It’s heartbreaking when my kids ask me to jump on trampolines or something like that, and I can’t do it. Like my six-year-old tells me all the time, ‘Sorry, Mommy, your back broke’… it’s heartbreaking.”
Long road trips are also now out of the question, as she can’t drive for more than 90 minutes.
Heidi explained that she’s got nowhere else to turn for help, particularly since the attorney she had been in contact told her that there was nothing that they could do, and three years after the incident, Heidi still has not received a formal apology from Brightshores about the incident.
“I did reach out to a law firm, too, and they were unable to take my case as [Brightshores] is covered by WSIB,” Heidi explained. “But the fact that I haven’t heard an apology from this hospital. Like I know they’re covered, but you did fracture someone’s spine.”
Bayshore News reached out to Purolator, Heidi’s employer, as well as Brightshores Health System and the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB).
Purolator did not give a response that was direct to Heidi’s case, instead giving the statement:
“We cannot comment on individual employee matters or specific incidents. When workplace health and safety matters occur, Purolator follows established protocols and the appropriate processes. The health, safety and well-being of our employees and customers are our top priority.”
Neither Brightshores nor the WSIB responded back by the time of publishing.
The mark left by a heavy beam that caused a compression fracture in Ashleigh Heidi’s spine. According to medical records, the impact resulted in a 15% reduction in the height of the affected vertebral disc. (Image credit: Ashleigh Heidi. Shared with permission.)