OHTA.ca

who is at fault when :a) a passenger opens door and jumps out of vehicle onto the road with traffic. b) he gets hit by a car travelling in the adjoining lane. c) traffic lights were green. d) pedestrian crossing was further up and indicated "no crossing" light e) the vehicle that he exited from leaves the scene as soon as accident occurred. f) no charges have been laid after police filed report g) insurance company insists that rates will increase although no charges laid and the injured "pedestrian" has acknowledged that he jumped out of the vehicle suddenly without warning etc.?

Shouldnt the vehicle that this person exited from be liable?

If the passenger jumped out on his own accord while the vehicle is moving, then I don't see how the driver/vehicle would be liable.

...Unless he was pushed out

My friend had a similar situation. A taxi driver stop and then the passenger open the door and hit her car and broke the side mirror.

When she renew her insurance. She notice there is a big increase.

The insurance company told her that she had an accident claim.

She complaint that it wasn't her fault. But the insurance company say a accident is a accident, it doesn't matter who is at fault.

It seem like every insurance company treat insurance claim different.

You should check with other insurance company and see if you can get better price.

"No person shall open a door of a motor vehicle without first taking due precautions to ensure that his or her act will not interfere with the movement of or endanger any other person or vehicle." (OHT Rules s. 165)

If the driver was charged, because the passenger opened their door, then tell it to the judge...it WILL be tossed. The passenger on the other hand, will most likely be charged (unless of course, it's a kid).

p.s. anyone that opens a door into moving traffic deserves a HUGE increase in their insurance!

the person who opens the door is at fault (setion 165 of the Highway Traffic Act) The person liable for damages is the vehicle driver/owner until they can get 100% of the liability transferred to the person who opened the door.

pvotrainer wrote:the person who opens the door is at fault (setion 165 of the Highway Traffic Act) The person liable for damages is the vehicle driver/owner until they can get 100% of the liability transferred to the person who opened the door.

Careful you don't mix up the concepts of "fault" as in potentially guilty of an offence under the HTA and "liability" in terms of how an insurance company assesses it. They don't necessarily correspond. You can, as the person who opens a vehicle door unsafely, be the only person to get charged under the HTA, but insurance companies could still assign less than 100% liability to that person, given the totality of the circumstances in the particular case. They aren't really bound by any rules in this area.

That's not actually true, the insurance industry in Ontario is highly regulated. They don't get to set their own rules to assess liability, they are bound by the Fault Determination Rules (O. Reg. 276/90) a reg to the Insurance Act (the only regulation in Ontario law I am aware of to include diagrams in almost every section). S. 19(d) of the Fault Determination Rules has essentially the same effect as s. 165 of the HTA.