A woman who suffered a serious head injury after hitting her head on a pole protruding from an unidentified, parked truck is covered by her own insurer's policy, even though the truck was not moving at the time, the Ontario Appeal Court has ruled.
Bonnie Lewis walked out of a variety store in 2003 and struck her head on a steel pole protruding from a truck parked the wrong way on the street in front of the store. She fell to the ground, unconscious, and suffered a serious head injury that left her cognitively impaired.
Since the truck's insurer could not be identified, she sued her own insurance company, The Economical, for personal injury damages.
Lewis's auto policy and the Insurance Act both provide for coverage from injuries sustained in an accident involving an unidentified or uninsured automobile.
Under the terms of the Insurance Act, if a person is not an occupant of an unidentified vehicle when injured, they are entitled to coverage only if "struck by" or "hit by" an unidentified automobile.
The Economical argued Lewis was not entitled to coverage. The insurer noted Lewis could not have been "struck by" or "hit by" the truck or the pole protruding from it, since the vehicle was not moving at the time. A motion judge agreed and dismissed the claim.
The Appeal Court reinstated the claim.
"Although the motion judge stated the principle that coverage provisions should be interpreted broadly, I do not think that she applied this principle," Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Laskin wrote for the court. "Instead, she took quite a narrow or restrictive view of the words ‘struck by' or ‘hit by.'
"In my opinion, these words should be interpreted broadly, and a broad interpretation entitles Ms. Lewis to coverage for her injuries."