A man who lived illegally in Canada for nine-years has been denied a claim for compensation after a hit-and-run accident because of his illegal status, it has been reported.
Jarley Silva, an undocumented migrant from Brazil, had over 23 screws put into his shattered leg after a hit-and-run accident that occurred on a Toronto street five years ago, the
Toronto Star reports.
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Despite his lasting injuries, Silva lost a court appeal for compensation from the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund because he was illegally living in Canada at the time of the hit-and-run, it has emerged.
Under provincial law, the government doesn’t give payouts from its Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund to no-fault accident victims who “ordinarily” reside outside of Ontario.
After the accident in 2011, Silva made a claim to sue the unidentified driver and the province for $200,000 in compensation from the accident claims fund.
However, a motion judge agreed with the government that the applicant was not “ordinarily” a resident in Canada, which prevented him from being compensated.
The Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund is the “payer of last resort” for people injured in car accidents when no automobile insurance exists to respond to the claim. Victims are eligible for compensation even in an accident with an uninsured or unidentified driver or a stolen vehicle.
In 2014, the latest statistics available, the fund paid out $17 million in accident benefit claims, the report says.
At the time of the accident, whilst Silva did have an Ontario driver’s licence, he did not own a car or have other insurance for the injuries he suffered.
In its decision on the case, the Ontario Court of Appeal’s three-member panel said that ruling the definition of “ordinary” residency in the province was set out to avoid unnecessary payments out of the fund, which relies on public money.
The panel wrote: “The appellant was present in Ontario illegally, was subject to deportation on discovery and had already been deported once. His continuing and knowing unlawful presence in Ontario… was the result of deception, and he never sought to regularize his illegal status until after he was made subject to a deportation order.”
In dismissing the claim, the appeal court also ordered Silva to pay $5,000 in legal fees to the government.
Silva, who is unable to return to construction work due to his injuries and now is supported by his retired mother in western Brazil, told the Toronto Star: “Toronto was my home. It was my only place of residence. It’s just not fair.”
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