Ill-fated headstand on a limo stripper pole is an “accident” in no-fault auto context

A man who fractured his neck while attempting to do a headstand on a “stripper pole” in a luxury limousine coach was injured as a result of an “accident,” an Ontario arbitrator has ruled, and is therefore entitled to accident benefits.
Daniel Whipple was catastrophically injured in June 2009 while returning home in a luxury limousine coach from a day of golfing in the company of 11 other male golfers. He attempted to do a headstand against a pole in the centre of the limo bus, but failed, and his head hit the floor, causing his neck to snap. Whipple was rendered quadriplegic and will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
To be eligible to receive accident benefits, a claimant must have sustained an injury in “an incident in which the use or operation of an automobile directly causes an impairment.”
Economical Mutual Insurance refused to pay benefits to Whipple because, in the words of the arbitrator, “an attempted handstand by an inebriated 62-year-old man cannot be considered among the normal, ordinary or well-known activities to which automobiles are put, nor can it be said that in this case, the use or operation of the limo bus was a direct cause of Mr. Whipple’s injuries.”
The arbitrator disagreed with this assessment, however.
“I find his headstand, though unusual, was within the scope of activities one could expect to take place in the back of a party bus, among a group of men with a mind to ‘party,’ with the freedom, privacy and amenities provided, permitted or tolerated by the company – amenities which included lights, music, alcohol and, most importantly, a stripper pole,” wrote Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) arbitrator Susan Sapin.
“I find the headstand, coming as it did at the tail end of a series of antics involving the stripper pole, was within the context of the evening’s activities and within the scope of the ordinary use of the pole and the party bus itself.”