Victoria, British Columbia — One Vernon, British Columbia driver learned that no good deed goes unpunished, especially when ICBC is involved, after he took his car through a drive-through car wash and left with more than $2,000 in damage.
Jason Meeds just had his lawsuit dismissed by the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal due to a lack of evidence, after the panel ruled that the public insurer and Skogies Enterprises, the owners of the car wash, are not liable for the damages.
It is Meed’s claim that the vehicle in front of him at the car wash hit the brakes while on the system’s tracks, causing it to malfunction and causing the other driver, June Ferguson, to collide with his vehicle.
Ferguson and her husband, who was in the passenger seat at the time, agreed that Meed’s vehicle was struck while in the car wash, but not on how.
Ultimately, the tribunal found in favour of the couple who contended that the system’s large spinning roller brushes are what caused the damage to Meeds’ vehicle, claiming even to have found roller material on their trailer hitch.
As well, tribunal member Chad McCarthy found Meeds “has not met his burden of proving that Ms. Ferguson applied her brakes in the car wash, or otherwise stopped her vehicle’s forward progress, causing the alleged collision.”
Meeds himself admitted that he couldn’t see the incident clearly at the point of contact through his soapy windshield.
