According to the Traffic Injury Research Foundation approximately 570 people have died in the last 20 years in Canada because of motor vehicle accidents involving animals. Thousands more people have been injured in these types of accidents, some of them very seriously.
Under our law when someone is killed or injured in a motor vehicle accident a lawsuit can be brought against any person or entity whose negligence caused the accident. If a farmer’s negligence allowed cattle to wander onto a highway a lawsuit could be brought against the farmer. But our law doesn’t allow wild animals to be sued. And even if it did, wild animals don’t have insurance or money to pay damages.
But the fact that animals can’t be sued doesn’t mean that people killed or injured in accidents involving animals don’t have important legal rights. They do.
If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident in Ontario, whatever the cause, you can apply for no-fault accident benefits. These benefits are also available to Ontario drivers involved in accidents in the rest of Canada and in the United States. These no-fault accident benefits are extremely important to seriously injured people. They include an income replacement benefit for people who are disabled from work. They also include benefits to cover the cost of health care services that are not covered by OHIP, like physiotherapy, counselling, mobility devices, personal support workers and the cost of medications.
The level of no-fault benefits available depends on whether you have purchased optional accident benefits. For people without optional accident benefits the benefits are limited. Income replacement is capped at only $400 a week. And health care costs are capped at only $65,000. For a few extra dollars a month on your auto insurance premium these benefits can be substantially increased.
If you are injured or a family member is killed because of a motor vehicle accident involving an animal, it is crucial to consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer. The lawyer can help you access the no-fault benefits that you are entitled to and advocate for you when the insurer denies paying benefits, which happens frequently. The lawyer can also thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the case to determine if there is a basis for a lawsuit against someone other than the animal. Even though the animal is the main cause of the accident in some cases others can be partially at fault and liable (for example a manufacturer for the failure of a seatbelt or a municipality for the failure of street lighting).
Troy Lehman
Troy Lehman joined Oatley Vigmond in 2006 and became a partner in 2010. As a personal injury lawyer, his greatest satisfaction comes from helping people through to the other side of a difficult time in their lives. “We’re here to help and relieve stress,” Troy says. “When I walk into a first meeting with a client, people are often scared and anxious. And for me, the best thing that can happen at the end of the meeting is that they say, ‘I feel so much better.’