Suicide Did Not Result From Use of Car - LaFontaine and State Farm

July 24, 2017, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

LaFontaine and State Farm

But For Test: Suicide; Did suicide follow from use of car; is the suicide an accident pursuant to the schedule? Suicide does not follow from the use of the car and is not an ‘accident’.

Date of Decision: May 25, 2017
Heard Before: Adjudicator Maggy Murray

Beulah Lafontaine was the common-law spouse of the late Paul Lynn. Mr. Lynn was in a motor vehicle accident on June 14, 2014 and died in hospital on June 21, 2014. State Farm refused to pay death benefits under the Schedule and Ms. Lafontaine applied to FSCO for arbitration.

1. Was Mr. Lynn's suicide and subsequent death "as a result of an accident" as defined by The Schedule?
2. Is Ms. Lafontaine entitled to a death benefit pursuant to the Schedule?
3. Is State Farm liable to pay Ms. Lafontaine’s expenses in respect of the arbitration?
4. s Ms. Lafontaine liable to pay State Farm’s expenses in respect of the arbitration?
5. Is Ms. Lafontaine entitled to interest for the overdue payment of benefits?

Result:

1. Mr. Lynn's suicide and subsequent death was not "as a result of an accident" as defined the Schedule.
2. State Farm is not required to pay Ms. Lafontaine death benefits pursuant to the Schedule.
3. The issue of the expenses of this proceeding is deferred.

Mr. Lynn was driving Ms. Lafontaine’s car when he rear-ended another car on the highway on the afternoon of June 14, 2014.  After the accident, Mr. Lynn telephoned Ms. Lafontaine and told her he was in an accident.  A tow truck driver took Mr. Lynn to two different mechanic shops but they were closed.  The tow truck driver then drove Mr. Lynn home. According to Ms. Lafontaine, Mr. Lynn went to sleep shortly after he returned home.  She woke him up at 1:00 a.m. to help him to the bathroom, after which he went back to sleep.  The day after the accident, she tried to wake Mr. Lynn up but he did not respond to her when she called his name.  Ms. Lafontaine called 911 and paramedics came to their house.  Mr. Lynn told the paramedics that he took 93 sleeping pills. He was taken to hospital and died one week later in hospital.

Mr. Lynn’s death was initially reported by the hospital as resulting from urosepsis, however, based on the high concentration of sleeping pills, Mr. Lynn’s psychiatric illness, and his admission to the paramedics that he took a large dose of sleeping pills, the coroner concluded that Mr. Lynn’s death was a suicide.  According to the coroner, Mr. Lynn overdosing on sleeping pills lead to bronchopneumonia.  He had a history of psychiatric illness.  Since the role and core expertise of a coroner is to determine the cause of death, the Arbitrator relied on the coroner’s report which gave the cause of death as suicide.

According to Ms. Lafontaine: (a) Mr. Lynn committed suicide by taking sleeping pills and he died one week after the accident; (b) Mr. Lynn’s suicide and death were directly caused by the car accident. According to State Farm, there is no evidence that links Mr. Lynn’s suicide with the car accident.

The Arbitrator reviewed the facts of the case, definitions and law. The key question arose, did the incident result from the ordinary and well-known activities to which automobiles are put?  Did it meet the purpose test?

The Arbitrator noted that Ms. Lafontaine’s position is sympathetic. She lost her spouse to suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills.  However, State Farm is not responsible for paying Ms. Lafontaine death benefits unless Mr. Lynn died as a result of an “accident,” as defined in the Schedule.

The Arbitrator concluded that there is no evidence that Mr. Lynn killed himself as a result of rear-ending another vehicle. The death did not meet the purpose test or the but for test. The use of the car was not the dominant feature in the overdose of sleeping pills. Therefore, the use or operation of Mr. Lynn’s car is not a direct cause of his death.

Based on the facts and evidence in this case, there is no connection between the use or operation of the car Mr. Lynn was driving and him overdosing on sleeping pills either the day of the accident or the day after the accident.  Therefore, the incident is not an “accident” within the meaning of section 2 of the Schedule.

As benefits set out in the Schedule are payable for “accidents.”, and because Mr. Lynn’s suicide was not caused by the “accident” as defined in section 3 of the Schedule, State Farm is not required to pay Ms. Lafontaine death benefits pursuant to s. 26(2)1.i. of the Schedule. 

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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.

It is important that you review your accident benefit file with one of our experienced personal injury / car accident lawyers to ensure that you obtain access to all your benefits which include, but are limited to, things like physiotherapy, income replacement benefits, vocational retraining and home modifications.