New Brunswick ATV Accident Lawyers

A quad rollover on a New Brunswick trail is not a car accident and is not handled like one. A New Brunswick ATV accident lawyer first asks who owned the machine, who was driving, and whether any policy responds, because the answers decide the whole claim.

The Deadline Is Two Years, Paused for Minors

Section 5(1)(a) of the Limitation of Actions Act, SNB 2009, c L-8.5 allows two years from the day the claim was discovered, and section 5(1)(b) closes every claim fifteen years after the event whatever the discovery date. Many ATV passengers are teenagers. Section 17 suspends the running of the period while the injured person is a minor, so a claim for a fourteen-year-old passenger is not lost on the second anniversary of the crash. Parents can still start it sooner, and usually should, while witnesses remember.

Which Rules a New Brunswick ATV Accident Lawyer Works Under

The Off-Road Vehicle Act (NB) governs ATVs and snowmobiles: registration, helmets, where they may be driven and who may drive them. A breach of that Act is evidence of negligence in the civil claim.¹ Liability itself is decided under the common law of negligence, against the operator, the owner who lent the machine, or a landowner or club whose trail hid a hazard. Section B accident benefits come from the ATV policy, regardless of who caused the crash. Whether the minor injury cap reaches an ATV claim depends on the policies in play and the place of the crash. Where a car or truck struck the ATV on a road, the ordinary auto rules apply.

The Claim Is Filed in the Court of King’s Bench

An ATV claim is filed in the Court of King’s Bench of New Brunswick, Trial Division, where a judge alone hears most injury trials. After the statement of claim there is document disclosure, examinations for discovery, expert evidence on the crash mechanics and the injuries, and a settlement conference. Mediation happens only if both sides agree to it. Because trails have no cameras and no police report is guaranteed, we photograph the site and interview the other riders in the first weeks.

Homeowner Policies, WorkSafeNB and Medicare Decide Who Pays

ATV liability is often covered by the owner’s homeowner or off-road policy and not by an auto policy. How those policies are found is covered in ATV accident claims in New Brunswick. Farm and forestry workers hurt on a work quad may be covered by WorkSafeNB under the Workers’ Compensation Act, depending on the industry and the number of workers, and a covered worker cannot sue the employer, though a claim against a third party outside the scheme remains available. Medicare may recover the province’s health care costs from the wrongdoer as part of the action.

To speak to a lawyer, call the Moncton office or the Saint John office.

Can a Passenger Claim Against the Driver of the ATV They Were On?

Yes. A passenger who was not driving owes no duty to the other riders and is entitled to sue the operator whose error caused the rollover, subject to any argument that they accepted an obvious risk.

What If the Rider Had Been Drinking?

Impairment of the operator strengthens the passenger’s claim. Where the injured person was the drinker, fault is shared and the award is reduced by their share.

Does Riding Without a Helmet Cost Me Part of the Claim?

It can, as contributory negligence, where the injury is one a helmet would have reduced. It does not bar the claim.

Is a Trail Club or Landowner Ever Responsible?

New Brunswick has no occupiers’ liability statute, so the question is whether the club or owner acted reasonably about a hazard they knew of or should have known of.

See the firm’s reported decisions at best injury results. The injury law areas page lists every claim type we take. We charge no fee unless the claim recovers.