Home > Miscellaneous, News > $130k insurance claim after mosquito accidently collides with Canadian

$130k insurance claim after mosquito accidently collides with Canadian

The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that Canadian Ryszard Kolbuc was the victim on an accident with a mosquito, which infected him with West Nile Virus, and is entitled to a $130,000 ($118,000 USD) insurance claim.

From the Globe and Mail:

The key to the case lay in how the law defines an accident; a legal question that has furrowed judicial brows for generations. In general, a death or serious illness arising from an unforeseeable cause that was not “naturally occurring” will trigger the payment of an insurance policy.

In the Kolbuc case, lawyers Chris Paliare and Gregory Neinstein argued for the plaintiff that a small number of diseases are so unforeseen that it is only reasonable to view them as being accidents.

“The plasterer had no reasonable expectation that he would get West Nile virus from the activity in which he was engaged,” Judge Weiler agreed. She said that, while a disease is not an accident, an accident can nonetheless cause a disease. Judge Weiler cited an example of a shipwrecked sailor who develops an illness from exposure to the elements.

Click an icon to submit this story to your favorite bookmarking site:
  • Digg
  • TwitThis
  • Reddit
  • Furl
  • StumbleUpon
  • Fark
  • NewsVine
  • Slashdot
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • YahooMyWeb
  • BlogMemes
  • Blogsvine
  • Ma.gnolia
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
Author: Cory Categories: Miscellaneous, News Tags:
  1. b.
    May 16th, 2007 at 20:07 | #1

    i think you meant “harakiri”.

  2. May 16th, 2007 at 20:22 | #2

    b.-

    No, I think you mean “Seppuku”.

    Harikari is correct, as it is most definitely the name of this website.

    -harikari

  3. Sandspeck
    May 16th, 2007 at 20:43 | #3

    Actually it is correct that this site is Harikari. But I think the other guy was thinking you meant Harakiri which obviously you didn’t. That guy is a dumb oshiri!

  4. May 16th, 2007 at 21:50 | #4

    Hey Sandspeck-

    Thanks for having my back on this one. Here is what I know about “harikari”:

    1. It is the name of an all-female band from the ’80s.

    2. It is the gaijin way of saying “seppuku” or “harakiri”

    3. It is the name of this website.

    4. It is my nom de plumplume.

    So, it looks like we are all correct here, including the fact that b. is a total oshiri.

    -harikari

  5. dipswitch
    May 17th, 2007 at 00:40 | #5

    it’s not nom de plum.
    unless you wanna name your plums

    it’s nom de plume.
    plume which means feather

  6. SevenT
    May 17th, 2007 at 08:36 | #6

    Almost, they strain at a gnat!!

  7. May 17th, 2007 at 08:36 | #7

    dipswitch-

    Thanks for the spell checking. I have edited the comment to correct the typo.

    I was not aware that we had ‘hired’ an editor. I am often left in the dark on these types of decisions.

    Nonetheless, thank you for your dedication so far. Please let me know if you find any additional typos in our website. We would like to get them all fixed by the end of the week. While some may feel this is an aggressive goal, I can see by your determination and work ethic that this should not be a problem. While reviewing the site, you may find that sometimes our content does not read as smoothly as we would like. Perhaps you could advise us on how to improve the flow of our stories.

    Your noble service to the entire world will not go unnoticed.

    -admin

    PS- If you are the last to leave at night, please turn down the thermostat but leave the light on.

  8. May 17th, 2007 at 08:41 | #8

    What’s with all the volunteer copy editors? This is almost as funny as the article itself.

  9. May 17th, 2007 at 09:15 | #9

    Hey! You jerks are ruining my google placement. Knock it off before I commit … oh, what’s the word for harikari only you do it to another person?

  10. vladykins
    May 17th, 2007 at 10:21 | #10

    “Hey! You jerks are ruining my google placement. Knock it off before I commit … oh, what’s the word for harikari only you do it to another person? ”

    That would be ’seppuk-you’!

  11. ばか外人
    May 17th, 2007 at 10:40 | #11

    おもしろいね。

  12. May 17th, 2007 at 14:09 | #12

    Hey dipswitch-

    I just checked in Human Resources. Nobody’s ever heard of you. No record of you being hired, nothing.

    So, while it was nice having you here as our spell checker, you are fired. Can I even do that if you never really worked here? Of course I can, I am the boss.

    Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

    Hey sandspeck, get this oshiri outta here!

    -Admin

  13. May 17th, 2007 at 14:14 | #13

    “Seppuk-you”

    HAHAHA…I love it.

  1. No trackbacks yet.