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Jim doesn’t see a stop sign. When he doesn’t stop, the worst happens: Another
car is coming and CRUNCH, an accident. Fortunately, no one is hurt, but there is extensive
damage to the other driver’s car.
You probably know that Jim would be responsible for the accident. (He won’t have
to pay for the damage because of his insurance, though his insurance rates are likely
to rise.) What is the legal reason that Jim is held responsible for the accident?
Jim’s liability for the accident falls under the general heading of the law of
torts. There are two basic types of torts: First, there are intentional torts. If Jim
beat up and injured someone in a bar without just cause (self-defence, etc.), he might
be arrested on a criminal change. However, he would also be liable to pay his victim
damages in a civil suit under tort law. The tort is intentional in such a case simply
because the law-breaker, Jim, intended to do the unlawful act.
The second type of tort case involves accidents. The person doesn’t intend to
harm anyone but causes the accident nonetheless. Car accidents are a good example of
these sorts of torts, though any accident might be a tort. If a window washer accidentally
dropped a pail on Jim’s head as he was walking down the street, Jim could sue.
However, not all accidents are torts. How does the law decide when someone is responsible
for an accident?
Under Canadian law you can be liable for injury caused to anyone around you if you are
negligent; that is, if your act which caused the injury was such that a reasonable person
would have foreseen that a person in the victim’s place might be hurt.
In the case of a window washer dropping a pail, it is not necessary that he could foresee
the accident happening exactly as it did. If his scaffolding was wobbly, and none of
his equipment was secure, it is enough if the window washer should have been able to
foresee the types of possible accidents. As well, it doesn’t have to be foreseeable
that it would be Jim who was walking on the sidewalk below. Any pedestrian would be covered.
Are you likely to ever be sued for a tort? Hopefully not an intentional tort. However,
you should make sure you have adequate insurance in place to cover you, just in case.
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