Supreme Court case tests SGI’s no-fault insurance

Apr 8, 2013 | 9:30 AM

The Supreme Court of Canada could potentially strike down the no-fault insurance program run by Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) for almost 20 years.

A decision in December granted a crash victim the ability to sue an RM and a company that he feels were responsible for his accident. That’s normally not allowed under the “no-fault” insurance policy 99 per cent of Saskatchewanians use.

SGI lawyer Tim MacLeod is hoping to see the case elevated to the Supreme Court of Canada for a decision. Even though the Crown company isn’t part of the suit MacLeod says the company is looking for permission to intervene in the appeal of the Court of Appeal ruling.

“It’s a bit difficult to be prospective on that but I think the short answer is yes, we would expect there to be more lawsuits, mainly around rehabilitation benefits,” he explained to News Talk Radio’s John Gormley Live on Monday morning.

The case centers on John Acton, a Lloydminster-area farmer who was badly hurt when he lost control of his truck on a rain-slick road, collided with a bank of road construction material, and flipped. He was left paralyzed.

“The court case basically surrounded the question of whether a person can sue if their losses are in excess of $5 million or whether they can sue for losses which occur within that $5 million limit…but are not covered by the program,” he continued, noting that $5 million is the cap for expenses like rehabilitation claims under the “no-fault” policy. Acton sought to sue the RM and the company responsible for maintaining the road for damages that aren’t covered under the “no-fault” policy and to get more out of that $5 million cap.

MacLeod says the ruling could mean a lot more lawsuits being filed after collisions, even though the case is relatively rare since most collisions SGI deals with are vehicle-on-vehicle or more usual single-vehicle roll-overs.

The case could resonate beyond Saskatchewan’s borders as well. Manitoba and Quebec also have no-fault insurance policies that have never been tested by the courts. They could see an impact on their plans as well.

news@panow.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow