MPI sues province for crash on Perimeter Highway

Manitoba Public Insurance is suing the province over a crash it alleges was the result of government employees blocking the Perimeter Highway without warning.

The Crown corporation, along with the individuals whose MPI-insured vehicles were damaged in the 2024 collision, filed a statement of claim in the Court of King’s Bench against the Manitoba government earlier this month.

According to the lawsuit, a tractor-trailer driver was heading south on the west Perimeter at about 2 p.m. on June 12, 2024, when he came to the Portage Avenue overpass.

As he drove up the ramp, he “suddenly, without warning” came upon a pilot vehicle and street cleaning truck, operated by government employees, blocking the median lane, the claim says.

He hit the brakes suddenly and a semi truck behind him collided with his trailer, the lawsuit says. The court filing does not indicate whether either of the drivers were injured. Both vehicles suffered damage.

MPI alleges the government’s negligence caused the collision.

“The plaintiffs state that the defendant owed a duty of care to them to ensure that its road maintenance and cleaning operations were conducted in a safe and prudent manner,” the court filing says.

The claim alleges the province failed to put in place or enforce adequate protocols on deploying street-cleaning equipment and pilot vehicles on high-speed roadways, including by properly positioning pilot vehicles at overpass crests to warn approaching drivers.

The provincial Crown corporation also argues the province failed to train, supervise or instruct its employees about how to use pilot vehicles on high-speed roads and neglected to ensure sufficient signage, traffic control devices or personnel were in place to warn motorists.

The province also failed to put in place a safe work plan or traffic management protocol for the road-cleaning operation at the Portage Avenue overpass on the day of the collision. it says.

Damage to the trailer cost its owners a little under $35,000 while damage to the semi truck cost MPI about $70,000 in insurance costs.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca