Surrey woman bristles at cost of toothbrush lawsuit
Bristling at the cost of trial, a Surrey woman has dropped her toothbrush lawsuit against Colgate-Palmolive Canada Inc.
Saliha Alnoor launched a lawsuit against the company after a toothbrush allegedly snapped in her mouth, causing extensive damage.
"A few months ago, as I was brushing my teeth, the toothbrush handle broke during brushing and it tore my gums," Saliha Alnoor said in a statement of claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court on May 11, 2007. "My gums started bleeding and I experienced excruciating pain."
She said she fainted for a few minutes because of the pain and is thankful there was family around.
"...my family members made sure that I did not swallow and choke and drown on my blood while I was unconscious," she said.
She said she contacted the Colgate-Palmolive head office in Canada and explained the incident in detail "in order to settle the matter without taking legal action."
A staffer with the company asked for more information, and after Alnoor sent it, she didn't hear from the company again.
On Wednesday, she appeared in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver and decided to drop the case.
She provided a hand-written note to reporters explaining why.
"Today at the trial I became aware of substantial additional costs I would incur if I continued with my lawsuit," said the note. "Another $30,000. I have already spent $21,000 on this case. So for me to proceed with my action would be risky because justice is blind and there are no guarantees regardless of how many witnesses, expert reports I have."
In its statement of defence, Colgate-Palmolive denied any wrongdoing and indicated if Alnoor was injured it was her own fault.
None of the claims were proven in court.
@diakiw
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