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
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Wildfire near Fort McMurray more than triples overnight, several evacuation alerts remain in place
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Putin replaces Russian defence minister in rare cabinet shakeup
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Edibles, armchairs and adapters: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.