Webb and Wawanesa involves the case of a woman, Daphna Webb who slipped on ice outside of her car. She parked her vehicle in a residential neighbourhood, near a snow bank where access points had been cleared. When she exited her vehicle, and walked around the front of her car, she fell backwards and broke 4 bones in her foot.
A May 2011 decision from Arbitrator Joyce Miller found that Webb was still in the process of exiting her vehicle when she fell, therefore the incident constituted an “accident” under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS).
The SABS defines “accident” is defined in section 2 of SABS as: “An incident in which the use or operation of an automobile directly causes an impairment or directly causes damage to any prescription eyewear, denture, hearing aid, prosthesis or other medical or dental device.”
Arbitrator Miller found that that the use of a motor vehicle caused an uninterrupted chain of events ending in Webb’s injuries.
Wawanesa appealed the decision, stating that the use or operation of an automobile did not cause Webb’s injuries.
The July 18, 2012 decision of Director Delegate Lawrence Blackman rescinded the decision of Arbitrator Miller and found in favour of Wawanesa, holding that the chain of causation was broken. There was an independent source, the ice and snow at a pedestrian access point resulting from the weather conditions.
Director Delegate concluded that Webb’s injury falls outside of the scope of the applicable definition of accident.
Aaron Waxman and Associates is a Toronto Personal Injury Law Firm. We handle disability claims, automobile accident claims, long-term disability claims and other types of personal injury claims.
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