5 year old child sues mother after car accident for insurance benefits.

March 08, 2016, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

In what is a fairly typical Canadian driving situation a mother and her son were driving home on a wintery day when the mother lost control of her car while driving too fast for the conditions. The car went off a 10 foot embankment and flipped over ending up resting on its roof. The mother was travelling between 70 and 80 km/h at the time. The young child had undisputed injuries including fractures to his face and extensive bruising. He recovered from his injuries after 6 months or so.

The child was forced to sue his mother in order to get benefits for his emotional suffering. This case pitted the mother and her sister against each other in court as the boy’s aunt was made his litigation guardian. The boy’s lawyer was seeking an award of $35,000-40,000 while the insurance company argued that $20,000 was a more appropriate award.

The case ended at the B.C. Supreme Court with Justice Jeanne Watchuk awarding $31,000 to the child. In determining the award amount she gave particular weight in the case to the boy’s very young age, and to the emotional suffering that he has undergone.

It is always unfortunate when litigation forces family members to side against each other. In some cases the family dynamic isn’t injured while in others it is irreparably damaged.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

The opinions expressed here, while intended to provide useful information, should not be interpreted as legal recommendations or advice.