Her dog injures her friend: she must pay $80,000

An Îles-de-la-Madeleine resident must pay a friend nearly $80,000 because her labrador broke his knee during a walk.

“The accident on 14 April 2017 made his situation even more precarious and significantly affected his quality of life,” Judge Benoît Moulin of the Superior Court ruled on 24 November.

Josée Chevarie will therefore receive $79,893.70 from Lindalise Boudreau and her insurance company, Unique General Insurance.

In the spring of 2017, the two Madelinians had gone for a walk with their dogs at Butte du vent, a well-known place in the archipelago.

After walking around the field for a few minutes, the two women, who had known each other for a few years and had seen each other occasionally, stopped to talk and set the three dogs free.

So Fido, the labrador of M^me Boudreau, at full speed on M^me Chevarie, rushing into his right leg.

“I heard ‘crack’, then the rest, I lost consciousness, I don’t remember anything,” she explained during her out-of-court testimony.

The first responders were then sent to the scene because the vehicle of M^me Boudreau was stuck in the field and could not carry the injured woman.

M^me Chevarie was hospitalized for three weeks, including at a hospital in Quebec, where she had to be operated on for a fracture in her right knee.

After that she moved around in a wheelchair, then with a walker and finally with crutches, which she still uses occasionally.

Already in bad condition

Josée Chevarie was officially declared disabled in January 2018. The 55-year-old also broke his left tibia in a work accident in 2013 and has not been able to work since.

“Before April 14, 2017, she could compensate for the weakness in her left knee by using her right knee. She can do no more,” says Judge Moulin.

When she was unable to move to accommodation on the ground floor, Ms.^me Chevarie lives in a first-floor apartment, which requires him to climb 15 steps to get there.

“The exercise is painful for him,” the judge said.

It is difficult for her to get in and out of her car, the only means of transportation available to the islands. Her brakes also had to be adjusted so she could drive with less pain.

Josée Chevarie claimed $573,000 from Lindalise Boudreau and her insurance company.