Any accident related to driving an automobile, whether you are a driver, passenger, pedestrian or cyclist, is covered by the Automobile Insurance Act. It is therefore the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) that compensates the victims of these accidents.
The SAAQ’s compensation plan is one of “no fault”, that is, regardless of fault. Therefore, it does not matter whether you caused the accident or not, whether you were intoxicated or not.
In 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada expanded the “no fault” rule to include third-party misconduct following an automobile accident, for example, the fault of a physician who operated on the victim of an automobile accident, which resulted in additional sequelae.
What about accidents that did not occur while driving the car, for example, while getting out of the vehicle or removing snow from the parking lot?
Accident occurring while entering or leaving the vehicle
You park your car in the parking lot of a shopping center and when you get out of your vehicle, you slide on a patch of ice. You fracture the leg and are put off work for several months. Does the SAAQ have to compensate you?
First of all, to be entitled to SAAQ benefits, whether it is an income replacement indemnity or an indemnity for bodily injury, you must have used the vehicle when the accident occurred.
In the scenario described above, you should therefore ask yourself if the fall occurred when you were getting out of your car or if it occurred once you finished getting out of your vehicle.
In many decisions, the courts have come to the conclusion that there was no use of the vehicle when the evidence showed that the driver had both feet on the ground when the fall fell.
Accident occurred while clearing snow from the automobile
In two recent decisions rendered by the Quebec Court of Appeal, two individuals sued, respectively, a hotel and the owner of an immovable, for the damage suffered following a fall while clearing snow from their vehicle in the parking lot of the hotel and the building.
The highest court in the province had to determine whether an accident that occurred while clearing snow from the parking lot constitutes an automobile accident within the meaning of the Act. In other words, the question that arose was: is it the SAAQ that must compensate the victim of the accident, or the owner of the building in question?
After a complete review of the case law, the Court of Appeal concluded that according to the logical interpretation of the Act, the action of snow removal is not related to the maintenance of the vehicle, but intimately related to the use of the vehicle as such. Consequently, an accident that occurred while clearing snow from one’s automobile and may be classified as an automobile accident within the meaning of the Act.
The Court draws a parallel with a similar situation where a driver stops his vehicle on the shoulder lane to remove snow or ice and suffers a fall.
Accident occurring while performing vehicle maintenance
The Act provides that an accident related to the maintenance or repair of an automobile is not an automobile accident covered by the SAAQ.
In the decisions cited above, the Court of Appeal defined the word “interview” as follows:
Maintenance expresses the idea of maintaining or keeping the motor vehicle in good condition. To do this, the concept of maintenance generally involves periodic actions of a durable nature varying according to the mileage of the automobile or its duration of use.
These are actions normally performed by a mechanic or car dealership, such as an oil change or brake inspection. An accident occurring while performing these tasks is therefore not compensated by the SAAQ.
Each case being a case in point, do not hesitate to contact our office for an evaluation of your file.