02-02-2005, 06:48 AM
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♦*♥Moderatrix♥*♦
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Join Date: Nov 2001
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Stripper Wins Damages After Tiger Attack
(submitted by gekkogecko)
Reuters
TORONTO (Reuters) - A stripper mauled by a tiger in an
Ontario safari park has won $650,000 in damages
because her scars meant she could no longer work,
Canadian media said on Friday.
Jennifer-Anne Cowles was driving through the park
nearly nine years ago with her then boyfriend when a
tiger jumped into their car and tried to drag them
away. The two insisted their windows had been shut
when the tiger charged, although the park had
challenged that.
The judge accepted the couple's testimony that the
power windows had been inadvertently lowered when one
of the big cats bumped against the car, frightening
them.
In a ruling delivered on Thursday and reported in a
number of Canadian newspapers, Justice Jean MacFarland
said she could only imagine the "stark terror
experienced by these young people during this
horrendous event."
She awarded Cowles some $650,000 in damages, almost
half of it to compensate for income she would have
made as a stripper.
Her musician boyfriend, David Balac, won C$1.7
million, because his injuries left him unable to work
as an accordion player.
African Lion Safari, near Hamilton, Ontario, west of
Toronto, said it is reviewing the ruling, but it
insisted the park was safe.
"Hundreds of millions of people drive through safari
style parks worldwide every decade and there are very
few incidents causing injury," it said in a statement.
"It is one of the safest activities you can do with
your family."
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