Ontario riders or passengers on public transportation are often mislead to believe that compensation for injuries sustained by riding a public transit vehicle such as TTC is limited to there being a collision.
As of 2011, the “no crash, no cash” rule comes from section 268(1.1) of the Insurance Act which prevents injured passengers from receiving accident benefits when there was no collision. Accident benefits include medical expenses, income replacement, and housekeeping and home maintenance, just to name a few. However, this does not mean you have no claim. Victims are often misled and uniformed. Victims are still able to pursue a claim for personal injuries against the TTC or any other at fault driver.
As stated by the court in Cusido v. TTC (2015) “The effect of these amendments was to bar accident benefits for passengers in a public transit vehicle such as a bus, except where the bus collides with another vehicle or any other object, while conversely, eliminating the TTC as a “protected defendant” under s. 267.5(1) for passengers in the bus; and therefore, allow for negligent actions by passengers against the TTC without the restrictions of proving permanent injuries (the threshold); a $30,000.00 deductible; and discounted income loss”.
If you were injured while riding in a public transit vehicle, such as a TTC bus and require help please call us for a free consultation. There is no fee unless we get you money.