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A daughter and mother who suffered injuries in an August 2008 motor-vehicle accident were awarded nearly $2.5 million in damages in a court ruling released earlier this month.

The daughter, Alissa Afonina, received a judgement of $1.53 million after Justice Joel Groves concluded that on the balance of probabilities, she suffered a "moderate brain injury".

In his written decision, the judge stated that facts support arguments that Alissa's decision to work as a dominatrix was a manifestation of her injury.

Her mother Alla was awarded $943,889.36. Her former boyfriend Peter Jansson was held liable for the accident on Highway 1 between Salmon Arm and Tappen.

Groves wrote that prior to the accident, Alissa was in some ways a typical student. The judge noted that he was impressed by a former teacher's testimony that she was in the top two percent in her level of engagement with assignments and activities.

At the same time, Groves stated that she had "quirks" to her personality, being a goth girl who challenged societal norms.

After the accident, she started to work as a dominatrix, which her lawyer argued was evidence of a "lack of correct thinking" and demonstrated that she was "prepared to engage in risky activities for money".

"Had it not been for the brain injury caused by the accident, I conclude that there is a real and substantial possibility that Alissa would have completed a college or university certificate program of approximately two years," Groves wrote. "This would likely have been in a field related to media arts and she would likely have been able to earn income consistent with that level of training in that area of activity."

Because of the accident, the judge concluded that she could only work 12 to 15 hours per week at a minimum-wage job or something close to that. In addition to the loss of income and special damages of $23,541.77, the cost of her future care was pegged at $376,863.

According to the ruling, Groves was "satisfied on a balance of probabilities that Alissa has suffered a moderate traumatic brain injury as a result of the accident and that her current difficulties are the result of that moderate traumatic brain injury".

Alissa's mother Alla was a chemical engineer from Russia who moved to Canada in 2002 with her daughter and a son. Alla worked on a series of contracts with B.C. Housing, but her employment was not renewed after the accident.

"What is striking here is that Alla showed all the signs of being a hardworking new resident in Canada who was prepared, prior to the accident, to take courses and to work hard to succeed as a new Canadian," Groves wrote. "Prior to the accident, she clearly had an ability to do basic mathematics and grammar in that she successfully completed a Business Diploma program at CDI College and she completed a number of courses at Royal Roads University, working towards an Executive MBA degree."

After the accident, she couldn't pass a clerk-level basic arithmetic, grammar, and punctuation exam.

"I am satisfied that this loss of ability is directly related to the accident," Groves wrote.