The Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal has
ruled that an employee who was injured at lunchtime in a car
accident was barred from suing the other driver in court.
Instead, he must go through the WSIB for his injury
benefits.
The employee, a sales manager for a food company, was taking his
son and a daughter of a colleague to lunch in his company vehicle
when the other driver ran a red light and collided with the
vehicle. The other driver was employed with a company that
was registered with the WSIB as a "Schedule 1"
employer.
The WSIAT ruled that even though it was lunchtime, the injured
employee was "in the course of his employment" because on
the same trip he planned to see a client and pick up a cheque for
his employer, which was a regular task for him. The car trip
had a "dual purpose" and was not solely personal time.
As such he was entitled to claim WSIB benefits, and barred
from suing the other driver in the courts because the other
