An Injury Sustained While Clearing Snow off a Vehicle Is an “Automobile Accident”, the Court of Appeal Decides

This article is a modified version of a case comment initially published by Éditions Yvon Blais (Thomson Reuters) in August 2018 (EYB2018REP2523).

As two recent court cases show, getting injured while clearing snow from a car does not immediately bring to mind the concept of an automobile accident. The Court of Appeal, however, in its recent decisions in Vaillancourt v. Blackburn1 and Hôtel Motel Manic Inc. v. Pitre2, has recognized that such an injury can be characterized as an “automobile accident” within the meaning of the Automobile Insurance Act, CQLR, c. A-25 (the “Act”), thereby putting an end to a prevailing conflict in the case law.

I – The facts

In the two decisions, rendered the same day, the Court of Appeal overturned two trial judgments whose fact patterns and legal conclusions are similar. While they were clearing snow off their respective automobiles, Laval Blackburn (“Blackburn”) and Suzanne Pitre (“Pitre”) both slipped and fell on a patch of ice.

After having their claims for compensation rejected by Quebec’s automobile insurance board, the Société d’assurance automobile du Québec (the “SAAQ”)3, Blackburn and Pitre each sued the owners of the parking lots where they fell, alleging that the lots were not properly maintained.

At first instance, the defendants asked the court to dismiss the actions on the grounds that the injuries were sustained in an automobile accident. They submitted that it is not possible to file a civil suit in such situations, given the public no-fault automobile insurance regime in Quebec4.

II – The trial decisions

The Superior Court (in the Blackburn case) and the Court of Québec (in the Pitre case) had to decide whether the action of clearing snow from an automobile constituted a use of the vehicle, and if so whether that action came within the maintenance exclusion in the Act. If it did not constitute such a use or was an excluded action under the statute, the accident that thereupon occurred is not covered by the public insurance regime, such that a civil suit is possible.

In each case the trial court concluded that the civil suit could proceed, and denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss.

III – The appel decisions

The Court of Appeal concluded that the action of clearing snow from a vehicle is connected with the use of the automobile and not with the maintenance thereof. The accidents of Blackburn and Pitre are therefore covered by the Act and the injuries sustained should be compensated by the SAAQ.

A. Damage caused by the use of an automobile

The Court first of all had to determine if the injuries were caused by the use of an automobile5. The case law has established that in instances where damage was caused by the use of an automobile:

  • a broad and liberal interpretation of the Act is called for6;
  • it is not necessary for the victim to be in the automobile7;
  • it is not necessary for the automobile to have been moving when the accident occurred8.

The Court found that the action of clearing snow from an automobile is intimately related to its use, as the snow is being cleared for the purpose of its imminent use.

B. Action in connection with the maintenance of an automobile

The Court then had to determine if the accident occurred while the automobile was being maintained, i.e. while performing an activity aimed at looking after a motor vehicle or keeping it in good condition. If so, this would be an excluded action under the Act and thus could not give rise to compensation by the SAAQ in the event of a concomitant accident.

The Court found that the action of clearing snow from an automobile is related to its use, and is not for the purpose of keeping it in good condition. The term “maintenance” denotes periodic actions with a lasting effect, which is not the case with clearing snow from a vehicle, which must be done repeatedly without any long-term effect during the winter season9.

IV – Author’s comments

These two decisions of the Court of Appeal reverse a virtually uniform line of case law of civil courts and administrative tribunals holding that an injury sustained while clearing snow from an automobile is not covered by the Act10.

This reversal is not surprising. We contended, for example, in an article published last fall concerning the Superior Court’s decision in Blackburn, that the trial judge’s reasoning on the concept of the use of an automobile seemed to depart from developments in the case law in that regard. We also expressed some reservations regarding the application of the maintenance exclusion in the Act.

A. Use of an automobile

Whether or not the automobile was running at the time of the accident does not appear to have been determinative in the Court’s reasoning. The Court is evidently of the view that snow-clearing while the vehicle is on or off is to be treated in the same way.

The Court found that the vehicle was being cleared of snow for the purpose of its imminent use, that the use of an automobile requires it to be cleared of snow, and that doing so is a necessary measure for the safe use of the vehicle.11

B. The maintenance exclusion

With respect to the maintenance exclusion, the Court espoused a stricter definition tied to keeping the automobile in good condition. In addition, it took the view that the following wording in the Act, “an action performed … in connection with the maintenance, repair, alteration or improvement of an automobile” refers to a one-time or periodic action having a lasting effect, as opposed to a procedure that must be done repeatedly without any long-term effect during the winter season.

Conclusion

Our takeaway from this decision is that such situations should not be analyzed in accordance with the traditional concept of an automobile accident. It is not necessary that the injury or damage be caused by the vehicle itself. It suffices if it occurred in connection with the general use of the automobile12. Each situation is unique and must be viewed through the prism of whether there is a plausible, logical and sufficiently proximate connection13 with an automobile or its use.


1 EYB 2018-295019 (C.A.)
2 EYB 2018-295010 (C.A.)
3 In both cases the SAAQ denied the claim on the ground that clearing snow from a vehicle is an act of maintenance and that the injuries caused could not be characterized as “damage caused by an automobile”.
4 Section 83.57 of the Act
5 Section 1 of the Act
6 Godbout v. Pagé, 2017 SCC 18; Rossy v. Westmount (Ville de), 2010 QCCA 2131, para. 31 (overturned by the Supreme Court on other grounds: Westmount (Ville) v. Rossy, 2012 SCC 30); Productions Pram Inc. v. Lemay, EYB 1992-63831, pp. 2-3
7 Ledoux v. 9172-5713 Québec Inc. (Cinéma Guzzo Inc. and Groupe Guzzo Pont-Viau Inc.), 2013 QCCQ 15532 (upheld by 2015 QCCA 126); Brisson v. Recyclage de papier Rive-Sud, 2016 QCCA 52
8 Productions Pram Inc. v. Lemay, EYB 1992-63831, p. 6
9 The Court considered the following to be acts of maintenance: changing the oil, replacing the oil filter, inspecting and if necessary replenishing the cooling, braking and power-steering systems.
10 See in particular Guichard v. Domaine de Parc Cloverdale, 2016 QCCS 1384; Dorion v. Mascouche (Ville de), 2014 QCCS 3727. Contra: Beauchamp v. Propriété Provigo ltée, 2013 QCCQ 1322.
11 Blackburn, para. 18 and Pitre, para. 24
12 Ibid.
13 Productions Pram Inc., supra, note 11

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