You have been involved in a car accident and you believe that someone or the city is responsible. You have submitted a claim to the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), but the amount received does not cover all the costs incurred by the accident, or you consider that it does not fully compensate for the damages you suffered. Can you sue the party at fault for civil liability? We explain when you can do this.
Compensation paid by the SAAQ
Quebec has a public compensation system for automobile accidents. Thus, any victim of a car accident can file a claim with the SAAQ in order to be compensated. This regime has the advantage of facilitating compensation for victims and speeding up the process.
However, it is possible that the amounts received by the SAAQ do not cover all the costs disbursed or compensate all the damages suffered. In fact, the Automobile Insurance Act provides for only four categories of indemnity: income replacement indemnities, indemnities for non-pecuniary damages, death indemnities and reimbursement of certain expenses.
As for non-pecuniary damages, only injuries, permanent sequelae, death and the inconveniences associated with them can be compensated. It is therefore possible that the compensation you receive does not cover certain consequences of the accident, such as the cancellation of a trip, loss of time or an increase in your insurance premium.
With respect to the reimbursement of certain expenses, the expenses covered are set out in the legislation. For example, while some expenses such as personal assistance costs, medical care and travel expenses for care are covered, others are not. Costs associated with damage to the automobile, in particular, are not covered by the SAAQ.
Civil liability lawsuits and the type of damage
If you find that compensation from the SAAQ does not cover all the damages you have suffered or if you think that a party at fault is responsible for damages that are not directly caused by the accident, you may be tempted to file a civil liability lawsuit.
In order to assess whether you have a recourse, it is essential to take into account certain important elements. Under the law, the SAAQ has exclusive jurisdiction over compensation for bodily injury caused by an automobile. In the case of Patrice v. Renault Automobile Canada Ltd., the Quebec Court of Appeal concluded that the law prevents the victim of an automobile accident from bringing a civil liability action for bodily injury, even if the bodily injury in question is not compensable by the SAAQ.
It is important to mention that the courts have adopted a broad definition of the concept of “bodily injury”, which includes moral prejudice and damage caused to the victim’s “economic person”. Thus, it is not possible to bring a civil liability action for loss of enjoyment of life, loss of earning capacity, inconveniences and even disbursements resulting from the accident, since these are considered inclus.es under the definition of bodily injury.
A victim can therefore only sue for civil liability for material damage, since, under the law, it is subject to the rules of ordinary law and not to the regime provided for by law. The law defines property damage as “any damage caused in an accident to an automobile or other property.” There is therefore a remedy for damage caused to the automobile or other property by the party at fault.
Proceedings for damages with a cause other than the accident
While any bodily injury caused by a motor vehicle accident falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the SAAQ, it is possible that you may have suffered other damages in the wake of a motor vehicle accident for which you have a civil liability claim. Indeed, the occurrence of an automobile accident does not automatically lead to the conclusion that all the damages are related to it.
As set out in the Supreme Court’s decision in Godbout v. Pagé in the Godbout and Gargantiel cases, the criterion for determining whether an injury should be considered to fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the SAAQ is whether there is a plausible, logical and sufficiently close connection between the automobile accident, the ensuing fault and the resulting injury. Thus, if the fault occurs in connection with an accident and aggravates the bodily injury caused by the accident itself, the entire damage must be compensated by the SAAQ.
In Gargantiel, the plaintiff was involved in an automobile accident. The Sûreté du Québec had taken more than 40 hours to locate and rescue him. Mr. Gargantiel had suffered from severe hypothermia and had to be amputated due to frostbite. He wanted to sue for civil liability for the damage resulting from the negligence of the Sûreté du Québec. However, the Supreme Court concluded that the additional damage had a causal link with the accident and therefore fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of the SAAQ.
However, if the accident is only a backdrop and there is damage that is not related to the bodily injury caused by the accident, this can be the subject of a civil liability claim. In the case of Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec v. City of Montreal, the applicant wanted to sue a police officer with whom he had had an altercation, as well as his employer, the City of Montréal. The police officer drove his car into the applicant’s car and laid false charges against him. The plaintiff sued for damages caused by the assault and those resulting from false accusations.
The Court of Appeal concluded that the claim could not be declared inadmissible because the fees incurred for the defence of the charges against the plaintiff and for managing the ethics complaint, as well as the damages claimed in connection with the violation of rights arising from the arrest and detention, were not related to the bodily injury caused by the accident.
Thus, the possibility of bringing a civil liability claim in the event of a car accident depends on the nature of the damage suffered and its causal link with the accident. It should also be remembered that, for any civil liability claim, it is necessary to be able to prove the existence of a fault, a prejudice and a causal link between the two.
If you are not sure if you have a civil liability claim in connection with a car accident or if you wish to be represented in your civil proceedings or with the SAAQ, do not hesitate to contact us.
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