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
Poilievre will do 'anything to win,' must condemn Alex Jones endorsement: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ramping up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he promotes his government's federal budget.
'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.
New evidence challenges the Pentagon's account of a horrific attack as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan: CNN exclusive
New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
'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.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery caught on video
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.
Ottawa injects another $36M into fund for those seriously injured or killed by vaccines
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.