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Incident where a dolly malfunctioned while loading a trailer is not an accident under the SABS.
The applicant sought statutory accident benefits after being injured while loading a refrigerator onto a trailer attached to a parked vehicle.
The respondent denied the claim on the basis that the incident was not an 'accident' under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule.
The Tribunal applied the purpose and causation tests, finding that while loading the trailer was an ordinary use of the vehicle, the direct cause of the injuries was the malfunction of the dolly holding the refrigerator.
The dolly's failure constituted an intervening act that broke the chain of causation.
The application was dismissed.
Summary judgment denied where foreseeability of vehicle entering roadside clear zone required trial.
The defendant municipality brought a motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of negligence claims arising from a single‑vehicle accident at a rural intersection.
The plaintiffs alleged that the municipality’s reconstruction of the roadway created a dangerous condition, including an inadequate clear zone and steep embankment adjacent to the roadway.
The municipality relied on the statutory bar in s. 44(8)(b) of the Municipal Act, 2001, arguing the accident occurred on an untravelled portion of the highway.
The court held that determining whether the clear zone and drainage ditch embankment constituted an untravelled portion of the highway required factual findings regarding reasonable foreseeability and road design standards.
Because these issues formed part of a broader factual matrix that could not be fully appreciated on the record, the municipality failed to meet the summary judgment test.
