An insurer sought a determination whether an insured’s injury constituted an “accident” within the meaning of s. 3(1) of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule under the Insurance Act.
The insured tripped over a curb in his residential parking garage after parking his vehicle and exiting it to wash it.
Applying the two-part test from appellate jurisprudence, the court considered whether the incident arose from the use or operation of an automobile and whether that use directly caused the impairment.
The court held that the vehicle was not being used or operated at the time of the incident and that the injury resulted from an intervening act unrelated to the vehicle.
Accordingly, the incident did not constitute an “accident” under the Schedule and the insured was not entitled to statutory accident benefits.
