Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) has taken the lead following decades of demands from within the industry and the public, proposing changes which would make it easier for victims to sue impaired drivers.
The minister responsible for SGI, Don McMorris, sees loopholes in the current law preventing victims from suing impaired drivers – or the family for pain and suffering if the impaired motorist is also killed in the crash.
“Because they were never charged with impaired, the victim couldn’t sue,” says McMorris, “which didn’t seem fair,” the minister said.
The insurer also wants to broaden the scope of the existing law to increase charges the driver can face to include, for example, flight from a peace officer, criminal negligence causing bodily injury, dangerous operation while street racing and criminal negligence causing death or bodily harm.
The SGI is implementing a series of extensive changes to rules related to auto injury coverage which will also see the payouts for living expenses altered to reflect current market rates. The amount available for people who suffer cognitive impairment will be increased as well.
For the victims, new regulations will ensure that tort income benefits keep pace with minimum wage and also end the prevailing practice by which income benefits are reduced by the amount a customer receives from the Canada Pension Plan disability.
One of the driving forces in pushing forward changes have been recent cases of impaired driving causing death.
In the case of Rosemarie Boxall, it was her husband John who died in February 2013 in a crash that involved a drunken motorist.
Even though the driver was impaired, he was charged with a greater charge of criminal negligence causing death, which meant that Boxall had to fight hard to get the benefits that SGI provides to victims of impaired driving.
“It was hard. It was frustrating,” she said.
Eventually, the SGI made an exception in her case, which also kick-started the review of insurance coverage.
The Saskatchewan Party government plans to introduce these changes in the house this fall. But, it can’t be passed until after the provincial election scheduled for April of next year.
