On May 13, the Administrative Tribunal of Québec (hereinafter: TAQ) ruled in favour of a road accident victim and amended the SAAQ’s decision to refuse a special adaptation requested by the accident victim.

This is a victim of a road accident. Following this accident, the victim is quadraplegic. At the time of the accident, he was a cattle rancher and heavy equipment operator. For as long as he can remember, the injured has always been on a farm. The latter belonged to his parents before he took over. Breeding, heavy machinery and his land were not a job for him, but a passion. He took great pride in the exploitation of his land when he had to mourn all these activities.

You can imagine that following this accident and considering his condition, he could not resume his job. He is therefore declared disabled by the SAAQ. He could not, however, believe that he would never get back on a tractor and be able to walk on his land again. The situation affected her a lot psychologically.

The Automobile Insurance Act states that the SAAQ:
« […] may take the necessary measures to contribute to the rehabilitation of a victim, to alleviate or eliminate any disability resulting from bodily injury and to facilitate his return to normal life or his reintegration into society or the labour market.’

However, this is not an obligation for the SAAQ. Indeed, considering the word “may” at the beginning of the section of the act, this means that the SAAQ has no obligation to take the measures, it has what is called a discretionary power.

But beware, the courts have mentioned several times that the SAAQ cannot refuse an application abusively, without justification and in an unreasonable way, such as this case.

Indeed, considering that this victim had a psychological need to have his tractor and that this was the only way for him to find a small part of his life before his accident, his request was therefore not a whim.

The TAQ has rendered several decisions in favour of road accident victims in order to agree to adapt a bicycle or other sporting goods, but this is the first time that the Tribunal has accepted such an adaptation.

The tractor of this accident victim was the bike of an athlete who is usually adapted by the SAAQ!

The TAQ has applied the law as it should be, in a broad and liberal way and which should be in favour of victims of road accidents. The TAQ in its judgment states: ”

[31]The Tribunal is of the opinion that the respondent (the SAAQ) must take all necessary measures to replace an injured person, as far as possible, taking into account the disabilities resulting from the accident, in the same condition as he was before, in order to mitigate or eliminate any disability resulting from bodily injury.

[32] The respondent must take all necessary measures to remedy the pathological deficit physically or psychologically.

” I think it would be nice to transcribe the last paragraph of this decision to end on an inspiring note: ”

[34] Instead of lamenting his fate and being confined to his wheelchair, the Claimant showed determination, courage and willingness to overcome all his physical disabilities that deserve to be highlighted. It is through this kind of behaviour that road accident victims will be prevented from falling into a state of total distress. In this way, they will regain a taste for life.”

What more can be said!

N.b.: We have attached the full text of the judgment on our website. Happy reading!

Me Lucrezia Plutino
LP Avocate

1 Loi sur l’assurance automobile, LRQ, C. A-25, art. 83.7
2 2013 QCTAQ 0557, paragraphe 31-32, 13-05-2013
3 2013 QCTAQ 0557, paragraphe 34, 13-05-2013