Habig v McCrae

Habig v McCrae is a case involving a serious head injury suffered by the plaintiff when the van he was travelling in was struck by a truck driven by the first defendant on the Bruce Highway. The plaintiff seeks damages for personal injury and consequential loss, alleging that the first defendant was negligent in failing to keep a proper lookout and in driving at an excessive speed. The first defendant denies any negligence. The defendants also argue that the plaintiff voluntarily assumed the risk of injury by travelling in a dangerously unreliable vehicle and by not moving the van off the highway or warning oncoming traffic. They further contend that the plaintiff's damages should be reduced by 100 percent due to contributory negligence.

The legal issues before the court were whether the first defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care, whether the first defendant exercised a reasonable standard of care, whether the plaintiff voluntarily assumed the risk of injury, and whether the plaintiff was contributorily negligent. The court had to determine whether the first defendant's actions constituted negligence and whether the plaintiff's actions contributed to the injury. The court also had to consider whether the first defendant's liability, if any, should be apportioned with the plaintiff's contributory negligence.

The court found that the first defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care and that this duty was breached by the failure to keep a proper lookout and by driving at an excessive speed. The court rejected the defence of voluntary assumption of risk, finding that the plaintiff's decision to travel in the van did not constitute an assumption of the risk of injury. The court also found that the plaintiff was not contributorily negligent. The court held that the first defendant was solely responsible for the accident and that damages should not be apportioned. The court awarded the plaintiff damages in the sum of $400,000 and noted that it would hear the parties as to interest and costs.