A 58-year-old man was awarded $20,000 by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board Thursday for suffering a brain injury while trying to protect his son.
Initially James Reeves didn’t think he had any serious injury. He bicycled to the hospital in the early morning hours of Jan. 8, 2011, following the ambulance that carried his son Steve. Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital emergency room physicians concurred and sent Reeves home. Seven weeks later Reeves had no feeling in his right arm and his balance was unsteady.
He went to the hospital and discovered he had a blood clot in his brain and needed emergency surgery. Doctors later told him that the punches to the head he suffered when he tried to keep a drunk from beating his son caused slow bleeding in his brain.
Two years later James has big gaps in his memory. He stutters when he talks and struggles to find the right word. He holds no ill will against the man who pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing bodily harm and served four months in jail.
“I try and put it in the back of my mind,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do about it. It happened.”
James took three buses to get to the hearing at Mackenzie Hall in the city’s west end. James said he had been preparing for the hearing since 7:30 a.m. He was 30 minutes late because he missed the bus.
“You were worth the wait,” adjudicator Janet MacEachen told him.
Compensation board adjudicators also awarded James $5,000 toward dental work he needs to replace the four teeth he lost when he was punched in the face. He said four other teeth are loose.
“I have to get my teeth fixed,” James said. “I’m having a hard time eating.”
James’ injuries stem from a beating by a man known as Cree who came to James’ east-end home where he lives with his son Steve and his 11-year-old granddaughter.
Steve, 34, let Cree, who was considered a drinking buddy, into his home around 4:30 a.m. Cree stank of whiskey. As soon as the men sat on the couch, Cree accused Steve of trash talking about him. Steve denied the accusation as Cree wrapped his hands around Steve’s throat. Steve peeled a hand away, which the assailant used to punch Reeves in the face three times.
Hearing his son screaming, James came downstairs and pulled Cree off his son. Cree turned on James, punching him in the head several times before turning back to strangling Steve.
“He hit my dad, and my dad goes down,” Steve said. “He got back up and (Cree) hit him again. I said, ‘leave my dad alone, he’s an old man.’”
After trying to kick a dog that got between Cree and James, Cree left the house. Steve said he knew he needed an ambulance when he looked in the mirror and half of his face was caved in. He had emergency surgery to repair a crushed cheekbone. After the assault, Steve didn’t leave the house for a couple of months as he recuperated at home from his injuries. When he did venture outside, he carried a knife for protection. He said he is anxious and he starts to hyperventilate when people argue around him.
Steve was awarded $6,000 by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board for pain and suffering. Two adjudicators are in Windsor this week hearing 15 cases. At three public hearings, the compensation applicants didn’t appear. The other hearings were closed to the public.
