In the decision VanBerlo v. Aim Underwriting Ltd., 2014 ONSC 4648 (S.C.J.), the Ontario Superior Court recently considered the meaning of the
term “accident”. The plaintiff crashed while attempting to take off in his
twin-engine aircraft when he was aware that only one of the two engines was
functioning. Although he had never done this before, it was the plaintiff’s
belief that the aircraft was capable of taking off with only one engine. Additionally,
he felt that it was able to safely make the six-minute flight to his
destination. The plaintiff sought to recover the damages to the plane under his
Aircraft Policy of Insurance. The insurer argued that this did not fall under
the definition of an "accident" and the policy was not triggered.
The Court reviewed
the existing case law and concluded that the term "accident" is
"an unlooked for mishap or occurrence”. Applying this definition, the
Court found that an accident can occur where the conduct of the insured
constitutes negligence and even gross negligence. In this case, the court held:
“It cannot be said, on the facts,
that the plaintiff realized the danger of his actions and deliberately assumed
the risk; nor can it be said that the plaintiff’s conduct rose to a level of
recklessness or culpability such that the occurrence was no longer an
accident.”
The
insurance was policy was required to pay the damages sought by the plaintiff.
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