Driver who hit a wall in a snowy McDonald's drive-thru tried to blame the restaurant
A B.C. driver who hit a wall in a snowy McDonald's drive-thru won't receive the payout he requested to cover damages and personal time.
In a Civil Resolution Tribunal decision posted Monday, tribunal member Chad McCarthy outlined the dispute between driver Shahed Foroughi Jahromi and Caterina Restaurant Corp., which operates a McDonald's franchise.
The tribunal heard Jahromi's claim that Caterina was "negligent and failed to adequately maintain the snowy drive-through lane, which caused him to hit the wall." But Caterina claimed Jahromi's driving was the cause of the crash.
McCarthy said the decision was made based on the balance of probabilities, meaning one scenario was more likely than not.
"The undisputed evidence is that the Caterina drive-thru lane was snowy at the time Mr. Jahromi used it," McCarthy wrote.
"Mr. Jahromi says that his vehicle slipped, which caused it to strike the wall of Caterina's building."
McCarthy agreed that Caterina owed its customers a duty of care. Jahromi suggested the company should've cleared all the snow from the drive-thru and claimed $1,200 through the CRT to cover bumper repairs and "personal time" for speaking to various repair shops.
Caterina, however, said the drive-thru was safe to use even though it wasn't completely snow-free.
"Caterina says that 993 cars used its drive-thru that day, and there were no issues except for Mr. Jahromi’s collision," McCarthy's decision said.
"I find the lack of other proven incidents among the hundreds of cars using the drive-thru supports a finding that it was reasonably safe to use."
McCarthy further explained that Jahromi "submitted no evidence that supported Caterina's drive-thru being excessively slippery or presenting an unreasonable risk to its users in the circumstances."
The tribunal also received surveillance video from the company recorded on that day that showed the road was "straight and level."
"The ground was snowy, but the snow in the vehicle tracks had been compacted or moved to the sides of the lane," McCarthy wrote in his decision.
"There were vehicles both in front of and behind Mr. Jahromi's vehicle. I find the video does not show any of those other vehicles slipping or exhibiting significant difficulties."
McCarthy determined the video evidence didn't prove the drive-thru was unsafe and said the company didn't fail to keep up its standard of care. In fact, McCarthy said he found Jahromi's driving caused the crash.
"As Mr. Jahromi came to a stop at the pick-up window, he turned his front tires to the left, toward the wall adjacent to the drive-thru lane," McCarthy explained.
"He pulled forward slightly with the tires turned left, which moved the vehicle slightly left, before he came to a complete stop and picked up his food."
As noted from the video, the drive-thru lane was straight, but Jahromi's wheels were still turned to the left as he accelerated after picking up his food.
"On the evidence before me, I find that Mr. Jahromi struck the nearby wall because he left the pick-up window with his wheels turned sharply left, and because he accelerated too rapidly, especially considering the obviously snowy conditions," McCarthy said.
"I find this left him with no time to stop or turn and avoid colliding with the wall."
Ultimately, Jahromi's claim was dismissed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it's too late
Christine Roess is a retired consultant. Ezra Bozeman has spent the last 49 years in prison, serving a life sentence for a murder he says he didn’t commit. Against the odds, the two fell in love.