Horace Archambeault Québec (Province). Dept. of the Attorney General.
An act respecting damages resulting from accidents to workmen: Text of the ... online
. (page 4 of 6)
Online Library → Horace Archambeault Québec (Province). Dept. of the Attorney General → An act respecting damages resulting from accidents to workmen: Text of the ... → online text (page 4 of 6)
Font size
attained by the victim at the time of the accident, of sixty
per cent, of the victim's averagt^ yearly wages, determined
according to the degree of infirmity, in accordance with
the foregoing provisions ; such annuity replaces the
above temporary allowance counting from the day whe-
reon the permanent nature of the incapacity is determined
either by agreement between the parties or by the final
judgment.
3« 1. "When the accident has caused the death of the
victim, either before or after the compensation or annuity
provided in article 2 is established, the following compen-
sations are allowed :
(a) A sum not exceeding $25.00 for the funeral which
shall, as far as possible, be in accordance with local custom,
taking into account the victim's rank in life and his reli-
gious belief;
(b) To the widow, who was not either separated from
bed and board or divorced, a sum representing the value
of an annuity constituted in her favour equal to twenty
per cent, of the victim's average yearly wages ;
(c) To the legitimate or acknowledged riaturel children,
under sixteen years of age at the time of the victim's death,
and to the ascendents whose sole support the victim was
at the same time, a sum representing the value, for each
child, of an anni^ity up to the age of 16 years of fifteen
per cent, of the victim's average yearly wages, and for
each ascendent an annuity of the same amount ; the
aggretate amount of such annuities shall not, however,
exceed sixty per cent, of such wages, if the childrnn be
fatherless and motherless, and forty-five per cent if they
be either fatherless or motherless. In the event of con-
currence between several representatives the compensa-
tion of each shall be proportionately reduced.
2. In determining the value of any annuity payable in
case of death, under the provisions of this article, the
Digiti
zed by Google
— 41 —
ordinary expectation of life of the victim as ascert
from mortality tables must be taken as fixing the ni
of years during which such annuity is payable.
3. Consorts and naturel children are entitled i
annuity only when the marriage or acknowiedgmei
preceded the accident.
4. The victim's legal representatives, whose ord
residence is not within the territory of the provii
the time of the accident, shall not be entitled to
tho benefit of the act unless the, inhabitants of th
vince of Quebec enjoy similar advantages, withoi
conditions of residence, in tho place where such p<
usally reside.
4. The wages serving as a basis for fixing the coi
sation in the case of death or in the case of pern
incapacity lor work, mean, with regard to a '
engaged in the undertaking during the year prec
the accident, the effective remuneration allowec
during such time, either in money or in kind.
With regard to victims engaged in the undertaki
less than twelve mouths prior to the accident, the
mean the effective remuneration they have receiver]
the addition of the average remuneration receiv
workmen of the same class during the period requi
complete the twelve months ; and, if there be m
workmen in the same undertaking, by the workc
the same class in similar undertakings.
When the undertaking covers a period of less t
year, the amount of yearly wages is calculated accc
to both the remuneration received during the wc
period and to the earnings of the workman durii
remainder of the year.
If the yearly earnings exceed $500.00,^ they sh
taken into consideration only to the extent of that
The excess above such amount shall entitle to one i
only of the compensation specified by this act.
5. Apprentices, including those who do not r<
regular pay or who are not entitled to any wages,
Digiti
zed by Google
— 42 —
as regards the fixing of the daily or average wages, rank
with the workmen receiving the lowest wages in the
undertaking.
6. The compensation specified in the foregoing articles
shall be at the exclusive charge of the employer, who
shall not keep back anything from the wages on that
account, even with the consent of the person receiving
such wages.
7. The allowance granted in cases of temporary inca-
pacity are payable at the same date as the wages.
Funeral expenses are payable within one month of the
death.
S. The compensation payable to the victim in the case
of permanent incapacity and that to the consorts and
ascendants are annuities established in favor of the persons
entitled thereto.
In the case of children, the annuities are temporary
and lapse when each one of them attains ihe age of
sixteen years.
O. As soon as the permanency of the incapacity is
established, or, in the event of the victim's death, within
one month from the date of an agreement between the
parties interested or, in default of agreement, within one
month from the final judgment condemning him, the
employer .shall pay the principal of the annuities to an
insurance company authorized for that purpose by an
order of the Lieutenant-Grovernor in Council.
lO. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall deter-
mine the conditions on which the insurance companies
shall be accepted which may apply by petition to be
authorized to assume the annuities in accordance with
the foregoing article ; but no company shall be so author-
ized, unless it has previously deposited with the federal
or with the provincial government under an act of Canada
or of this province, an amount deemed sufficient to secure
Digiti
zed by Google
— 43 —
the fulfilment of its obligations. (See E. S. C , c. 142 and
amendments ; 69 V., (Q), c. 84).
!!• Instalmt^nts of annuities are payable monthly and
by twelfths in the offices of the insurance companies.
12. An agreement may be entered into between the
employer and the interested parties of the full age of
majority and in the 'exercise of their rights to the effect
that the principal sum required for constituting the an-
nuity shall be paid them at once in cash either wholly or
in part only.
13. Compensations payable under this act to the victims
of accidents or to their representatives cannot be assigned,
and are subjet to the provisions of paragraph 11 of article
699 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Poupart vs. Miller, U. J. Q, 10 S. C, 187. Contra. Beau-
vais vs. Leroux, M. L. E., 2 S. C, 491 ; Cress6 vs. Young,
18R. L,186.
SECT ON II
RESPONSIBILITY
!*• No derogation from the general rules of civil res-
ponsibility exists when the accident has been intentionally
brought aoout by the employer
With this exception, damages resulting from accidents
arising from or in connection with work in the cases
provided for by article 1 of this act entitle the victim or
his representatives to claim from the enployer the com-
pensation set forth in this act only.
In no case shall damages be cumulated with the amount
of such compensation
15. The compensation established by this act cannpt
be claimed when the accident was intentionally brought
about by the victim.
When the accident is due to inexcusable fault on the
part of the employer or of the victim, the court may
Digiti
zed by Google
— 44 —
decrease or increase the compensation ; but the latter or
the aggregate amount of the compensation allowed shall
not be less than one half the daily or yearly wages, as the
case may be, nor exceed the total amount of such wages.
16« Independently of the action resulting from this act,
the victim or his representatives, as set forth in article
1056 of the Civil Code, shall retain the right to claim
compensation for the injury done, in accordance with the
provisions of the Civil Code, from the authors of the
accident other than the employer, his workmen or
employees.
The compensation allowed them and which they shall
actually receive from that source shall exonerate to that
extent the employer from the obligations imposed on him.
Such action against third parties responsible for the
accident may also be brought by the employer at his own
risk and peril in the place and stead of the victim or his
representatives, if the latter neglect to bring such action
17* The employer may relieve himself from the obliga-
tion to pay to the victim the compensation due in cases
of temporary incapacity or from a portion only of such
compensation, if he prove :
1. That he had affiliated the victim to a mutual benefit
society and had assumed the payment of the assessment
exacted therefor ;
2. That the society assures to its menofbers in case of
accident a daily compensation.
Nevertheless if the amount of the compensation and
the value of the services assured and paid for by the
society are less than those to which the victim would
have been entitled under this act, the employer is bound
to pay him the difference. The employer's obligation con-
tinues likewise if the society neglects or becomes unable
to pay the compensation or to pay for the services it has
assumed, at the times fixed.
1*^. Workmen who usually work alone cannot be made
subject to this act through the fact of the casual collabo-
ration of one or more other workmen.
Digiti
zed by Google
— 45 —
!»• Every agreement contrary to the provisions of this
act is dejure null and void.
20« The victim is obliged, if the employer require the
same in writing, to undergo an examination by a medical
practitioner chosen and paid by the employer, and if he
refuse to submit to such examination or oppose it in any
w^ay, his right to compensation as well as all recourse for
obtaining the same remain suspended untill the examina-
tion has taken place.
SECTION III
SECURITY
. 21«The claim of the victim of the accident or his repre-
sentatives with respect to funeral expenses, as well as to
the compensation allowed in consequence of temporary
incapacity, is secured by privilege on the moveable and
immoveable property of the employer, ranking concur-
rently with the claim mentioned in paragraph 9 of article
1994 and paragraph 9 of article 2009 of the Civil Code,
respectively.
The payment ^f the compensation for permanent inca-
pacity or for an accident followed by death is secured by
a privilege of the same nature and rank, so long as the
amount required to constitute the annuity has not been
handed to an insurance company or otherwise paid under
this act.
>ECTION IV
JURISDICTION AND PROCEDURE
22« The Circuit Court takes cognizance in final resort,
to the exclusion of every other court and without any
evocation to any other court, of all claims and contesta-
tions between the victims of accidents or their represen-
tatives and the employers, with respect to funeral
expenses, as well as to the compensation allowed in con-
sequence of temporary incapacity, whatever may be the
amount of the claim.
Digiti
zed by Google
— 46 —
2S» The Superior Court takea coguizance of all claims
and contestations arising under this act, which are not
declared by the foregoing article to be within the juris-
diction of the Circuit Court.
24. The provisions contained in articles 1150 to 1162,
inclusively, of the Code of Civil Procedure, respecting^
summary matters other than those between lessors and
lessees, apply to all such claims and contestations, as well
as to the incidents of procedure and to the execution of
the judgments to which they give rise.
25. The court or judge may, at any stage of the pro-
ceedings before judgment, grant on petition an interim
daily allowance to the victim or his legal representatives.
The judgment or order granting such allowance is exe-
cuted notwithstanding review or appeal in cases where
such recourse lies.
26« Judgments rendered by the Superior Court in
virtue of this act are susceptible of review or appeal
under the rules of common law. The appeal must
however be taken within litteen days from the date of
the judgment on pain of forfeiture.
27. Provisional execution may be ordered, notwiths-
tanding review or appeal, with or without security, at
the request of the victim or of his representatives, iu
accordance with the provisions of articles 695 to 597 of
the Code of Civil Procedure.
28. Suits for the recovery of compensation and other
allowances provided for by this act are prescribed in one
year.
2»« A demand for the revision of the compensation
founded on an aggravation of or improvement in the
victim's condition, may be brought within four years
from the date of the agreement between the parties or of
the final judgment.
Digiti
zed by Google
— 47 —
SECTION V
FISCAL PROVISIONS
30« All jadioial proceedings under this act are exei
from the duties and taxes enacted by Order in Cour
No. 180, of the 27th March, 1902.
SECTION 'VI
COMING INTO FORCE
31« This act shall come into force on the day o
sanction.
Digiti
zed by Google
— 48 —
WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION ACT, 1897
[60 and 61 Vict, ch. SI.]
An Act to amend the Law with respect to Compensa-
tion to Workmen for accidental Injuries suflFered in
the course of their Employment. [6th August 1897 ]
Be it enacted by the Queen*s most Excellent Majesty,
by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiri-
Inal and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parlia-
ment assembled, and by the authority of the same, as
follows : —
!• — (1.) If in any employment to which this Act
applies personal injury by accident arising out of and
in course of the employment is caused to a workman, his
employer shall, subject as hereinafter mentioued, be liable
to pay compensation in accordance with the First Sche-
dule to this Act.
(2.) Provided that:—
(a ) The employer shall not be liable under this Act
in respect of any injury which does not disable the work-
man for a period of at least two weeks from earning full
wages at the work at which he was employed ;
(b.) When the injury was caused by the personal negli-
gence or wilful act of the employer, or of some person for
whose act or default the emplover is responsible, nothing*
in this Act shall affect any civil liability of the employer,
but in that case the workman may, at his option, either
claim compensation under this Act, or take the same pio-
ceedings as were open to him before the commencement
of this Act ; but the employer shall not be liable to
pay compensation for injury to a workman by accident
arising out of and in the course of the employment both
independently of and also under this Act, and shall not
be liable to any proceedings independently of this Act,
except in case of such personal negligence or wilful act
as aforesaid ;
Digiti
zed by Google
— 4y —
(c.) If it is proved that the injury to a workman is
attributable to the serious and wilful misconduct of that
workman, any compensation claimed- in respect of that
injury shall be disallowed.
(3.) If any question arises in any proceedings under
this Act as to the liability to pay compensation under
this Act (including any question as to whether the
employment is one to wnich this Act applies), or as to
the amount or duration of coiupensation under this Act,
the question, if not settled by agreement, shall, subject
to the provisions of the Firsi; Schedule to this Act, be
settled by arbitration, in accordance with the Second
Schedule to this Act.
(4 ) If, within the time hereinafter in this Act limited
for taking proceedings, an action is brought to recover
damages independently of this Act for injury caused by
any accident, and it is determined in such action that
the injury is one for which the employer is not liable in
such action, but that he would have been liable to pay
compensation under the provisions of this Act, the action
shall be dismissed ; but the court in which the action is
tried shall, if the plaintiff shall so choose, proceed to
assess such compensation, and shall be at liberty to
deduct from such compensation all the costs which, in
its judgment, have been caused by the plaintiff bringing
the action instead of proceeding under this Act.
In any proceeding under this subsection when the
Court assesses the compensation it shall give a certificate
of the compensation it has aw^arded and the directions it
has given as to the deduction for costs, and such certi-
ficate shall have the force and eflfect of an award under
this Act.
(5.) Nothing in this Act shall affect any proceeding for
a fine under the enactm^^nts relating to mines or facto-
ries, or the application of any such fine, but if any such
fine, or any part thereof, has been applied for the biuefit
of the person injured, the amount so applied shall be
taken into account in estimating the compensation uader
this Act.
4
Digiti
zed by Google
- 50 —
2.— (1) Froceedings for the retovery under this Act ot
cottJpeDsatioB for an injury shall not be maintainable
tiiiless notice of the accident has been given as soon as
practicable after the happening thereof and before the
workman has voluntarily left the employment in which
he was injured, and unless the claijn for compensation
•with respect to such accident has be'en made within six
iflonths from the occurence of the accident cau ing the
injury, or, in case of death, within six months from the
time of death. Provided always that the want of or any
defect or inaccuracy in such notice shall not be a bar to
the maintenance of such proceedings, if it is found in the
proceedings for settling the claim that the employer is
not prejudiced in his defence by the want, defect, or inac-
curacy, or that such want, defect, or inaccuracy was
occasioned by mistake or other reasonable cause.
(2.) Notice in respect of an injury under this Act shall
give the name and address of the person injured, and shall
state in ordinary language the cause of the injury and
the date at which it was sustained, and shall be served
on the employer, or, if there is more than one employer,
upon one of such employers.
(3.) The notice may be served by delivering the same
to or at the residence or place of business of the person
on whom it is to be served.
(4.) The notice may also be served by post by a re-
gistered letter addressed to the person on whom it is to
be served at his last known place of residence or place of
business, and if served by post shall be deemed to have
been served at the time when the letter containing the
same would have been delivered in the ordinary course
of post, and in proving the service of such notice it shall
be sufficient to prove that the notice was properly
addressed and reo^istered.
"o*
(6.) ^Where the employer is a body of persons corporate
or unincorporate, the notice may also be served by deliver-
ing the same at, or by sending it by post in a registered
letter addressed to the employer at the office, or if there
Digiti
zed by Google
— 51 —
be more than one office, any one of the offices of such
body.
3« — (I.) If the Registrar of Friendly Societies, after
taking steps to ascertain the views of the employer and
workmen, certifies that any scheme of compensation,
benefit, or insurance for the workmen of an employer in
any employment, \^hetheror not such scheme includes
other employers and their workmen, is on the whole not
less favourable to the general body of workmen and their
dependants than the provisions of this Act, the employer
may, until the certificate is revoked, contract with any
of those workmen that the provisions of the scheme shall
be substituted for the provisions of this Act, and there-
upon the employer shall be liable only in accordance
with the scheme, but, save as aforesaid, this Act shall
apply notwithstanding any contract to the contrary made
' after the commencement of this Act.
(2) The Registrar may give a certificate to expire at
the end of a limited period not lesjj than five years.
(3.) No scheme shall be so certified which contains an
obligation upon the workmen to join the scheme as a
condition of their hiring
(4) If complaint is made to the Registrar of Friendly
Societies by or on behalf of the workmen of any employer
that the provisions of any scheme are no longer on the
whole so favourable to the general body of workmen of
such employer and their dependants as the provisions of
this Act, or that the provisions of such scheme are being
violated, or that the scheme is not being fairly adminis-
tered, or that satisfactory reasons exist for revoking the
certificate, the Registrar shall examine into the com-
plaint, and, if satisfied that good cause exists for such
complaint, shall, unless the cause of complaint is remov-
ed, revoke the certificate.
(5 ) When a certificate is revoked or expires any
moneys or securities held for the purpose of the scheme
sha.l bd distributed as may be arranged by the employer
Digiti
zed by Google
— 52 —
and workmen, or as may be determined by the Registrar
of Friendly Societies in the event of a ditfeience of opi-
nion.
(6.) Whenever a scheme has been certified as afore-
said, it shall be the duty of the employer to answer all
such inquiries and to furnish all 8uch accounts in regard
to the scheme as may be made or required by the Registrar
of Friendly b'ocieties.
(7.) The Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies shall
include in his annual report the particulars of the pro-
ceedings of the Registrar under this Act.
4. — Where, in an employment to which this Act
applies, the undertakers as hereinafter defined contract
with any person for the execution by or under such con-
tractor of any work, and the undertakers would, if such
work were executed by workmen immediately employed
by them, be liable to pay compensation under this Act
to those woikmen in respect of any accident arising out
of and in the course of their employment, the under-
takers shall be liable to pay to any workmen employed
in the execution of the work any compensation which is
payable to the workman (whether under this Act or in
respect of personal negligence or wilful act indepen-
dently of this Act) by such contractor, or would be so
payable if such contractor were an employer to whom
this Act applies.
Provided that the undertakers shall be entitled to be
indemnified by any other person who would have been
liable independently of this section.
This section shall not apply to any contract with any
person for the execution by or under such contractor of
any work which is merely ancillary or incidental to,
and is no part of, or process in, the trade or business
carried on by such undertakers respectively,
5— (1.) Where an employer becomes liable under this
Act to pay compensation in respect of any accident, and
is entitled to any sum from insurers in respect of the
Digiti
zed by Google
— 53 —
amount due to a workman under such liability, then in
the event of the employer bacomiag bankrupt, or making
acomposition or arrangement with his creditors, or if the
employer is a company of th3 company having com-
menced to be woand up, such workman shill have a first
charge upon the sum aforesaid for the amount so due and
the judge of the county court may direct the insurers to
pay such sum into the Post Office Savings Bank in the
name of the registrar of such court, and order the same
to be iavested or applied in accordance with the provi-
sions of the First Schedule hereto with reference to the
investment in the Post Office Savings Bank of any sum
allotted as compensation, and those provisions shall apply
accordingly.
(2) In the application of this section to Scotland, the
words ** have a first charge upon " shall mean ** be prefe-
rentially entitled to."
6— -Where the injury for which compensation is
payable under this Act was caused under circumstances
creating a legal liability in some person other than the
employer to pay damages in respect thereof, the workman
may, at his option, proceed, either at law against that
person to recover damages or against his employer for
compensation under this Act, but not against both, and
if compensation be paid under this Act, the employer
shall be entitled to be indemnified by the said other
person.
T*— (1.) This Act shall apply only to employment by
the undertakers as hereinafter defined, on or in or about
a railway, factory, mine, quarry, or engineering work,
and to employment by the undertakers as hereiuafter
defined on or in or about aay building which exceeds
thirty feet in height, and is either be ng constracte I or
repaired by means of a scafFoldin.?, or b dns: demolished,
or on which machinery driven by steam, water, or other
mechanical power, is being used for the purpose of the
per cent, of the victim's averagt^ yearly wages, determined
according to the degree of infirmity, in accordance with
the foregoing provisions ; such annuity replaces the
above temporary allowance counting from the day whe-
reon the permanent nature of the incapacity is determined
either by agreement between the parties or by the final
judgment.
3« 1. "When the accident has caused the death of the
victim, either before or after the compensation or annuity
provided in article 2 is established, the following compen-
sations are allowed :
(a) A sum not exceeding $25.00 for the funeral which
shall, as far as possible, be in accordance with local custom,
taking into account the victim's rank in life and his reli-
gious belief;
(b) To the widow, who was not either separated from
bed and board or divorced, a sum representing the value
of an annuity constituted in her favour equal to twenty
per cent, of the victim's average yearly wages ;
(c) To the legitimate or acknowledged riaturel children,
under sixteen years of age at the time of the victim's death,
and to the ascendents whose sole support the victim was
at the same time, a sum representing the value, for each
child, of an anni^ity up to the age of 16 years of fifteen
per cent, of the victim's average yearly wages, and for
each ascendent an annuity of the same amount ; the
aggretate amount of such annuities shall not, however,
exceed sixty per cent, of such wages, if the childrnn be
fatherless and motherless, and forty-five per cent if they
be either fatherless or motherless. In the event of con-
currence between several representatives the compensa-
tion of each shall be proportionately reduced.
2. In determining the value of any annuity payable in
case of death, under the provisions of this article, the
Digiti
zed by Google
— 41 —
ordinary expectation of life of the victim as ascert
from mortality tables must be taken as fixing the ni
of years during which such annuity is payable.
3. Consorts and naturel children are entitled i
annuity only when the marriage or acknowiedgmei
preceded the accident.
4. The victim's legal representatives, whose ord
residence is not within the territory of the provii
the time of the accident, shall not be entitled to
tho benefit of the act unless the, inhabitants of th
vince of Quebec enjoy similar advantages, withoi
conditions of residence, in tho place where such p<
usally reside.
4. The wages serving as a basis for fixing the coi
sation in the case of death or in the case of pern
incapacity lor work, mean, with regard to a '
engaged in the undertaking during the year prec
the accident, the effective remuneration allowec
during such time, either in money or in kind.
With regard to victims engaged in the undertaki
less than twelve mouths prior to the accident, the
mean the effective remuneration they have receiver]
the addition of the average remuneration receiv
workmen of the same class during the period requi
complete the twelve months ; and, if there be m
workmen in the same undertaking, by the workc
the same class in similar undertakings.
When the undertaking covers a period of less t
year, the amount of yearly wages is calculated accc
to both the remuneration received during the wc
period and to the earnings of the workman durii
remainder of the year.
If the yearly earnings exceed $500.00,^ they sh
taken into consideration only to the extent of that
The excess above such amount shall entitle to one i
only of the compensation specified by this act.
5. Apprentices, including those who do not r<
regular pay or who are not entitled to any wages,
Digiti
zed by Google
— 42 —
as regards the fixing of the daily or average wages, rank
with the workmen receiving the lowest wages in the
undertaking.
6. The compensation specified in the foregoing articles
shall be at the exclusive charge of the employer, who
shall not keep back anything from the wages on that
account, even with the consent of the person receiving
such wages.
7. The allowance granted in cases of temporary inca-
pacity are payable at the same date as the wages.
Funeral expenses are payable within one month of the
death.
S. The compensation payable to the victim in the case
of permanent incapacity and that to the consorts and
ascendants are annuities established in favor of the persons
entitled thereto.
In the case of children, the annuities are temporary
and lapse when each one of them attains ihe age of
sixteen years.
O. As soon as the permanency of the incapacity is
established, or, in the event of the victim's death, within
one month from the date of an agreement between the
parties interested or, in default of agreement, within one
month from the final judgment condemning him, the
employer .shall pay the principal of the annuities to an
insurance company authorized for that purpose by an
order of the Lieutenant-Grovernor in Council.
lO. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall deter-
mine the conditions on which the insurance companies
shall be accepted which may apply by petition to be
authorized to assume the annuities in accordance with
the foregoing article ; but no company shall be so author-
ized, unless it has previously deposited with the federal
or with the provincial government under an act of Canada
or of this province, an amount deemed sufficient to secure
Digiti
zed by Google
— 43 —
the fulfilment of its obligations. (See E. S. C , c. 142 and
amendments ; 69 V., (Q), c. 84).
!!• Instalmt^nts of annuities are payable monthly and
by twelfths in the offices of the insurance companies.
12. An agreement may be entered into between the
employer and the interested parties of the full age of
majority and in the 'exercise of their rights to the effect
that the principal sum required for constituting the an-
nuity shall be paid them at once in cash either wholly or
in part only.
13. Compensations payable under this act to the victims
of accidents or to their representatives cannot be assigned,
and are subjet to the provisions of paragraph 11 of article
699 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Poupart vs. Miller, U. J. Q, 10 S. C, 187. Contra. Beau-
vais vs. Leroux, M. L. E., 2 S. C, 491 ; Cress6 vs. Young,
18R. L,186.
SECT ON II
RESPONSIBILITY
!*• No derogation from the general rules of civil res-
ponsibility exists when the accident has been intentionally
brought aoout by the employer
With this exception, damages resulting from accidents
arising from or in connection with work in the cases
provided for by article 1 of this act entitle the victim or
his representatives to claim from the enployer the com-
pensation set forth in this act only.
In no case shall damages be cumulated with the amount
of such compensation
15. The compensation established by this act cannpt
be claimed when the accident was intentionally brought
about by the victim.
When the accident is due to inexcusable fault on the
part of the employer or of the victim, the court may
Digiti
zed by Google
— 44 —
decrease or increase the compensation ; but the latter or
the aggregate amount of the compensation allowed shall
not be less than one half the daily or yearly wages, as the
case may be, nor exceed the total amount of such wages.
16« Independently of the action resulting from this act,
the victim or his representatives, as set forth in article
1056 of the Civil Code, shall retain the right to claim
compensation for the injury done, in accordance with the
provisions of the Civil Code, from the authors of the
accident other than the employer, his workmen or
employees.
The compensation allowed them and which they shall
actually receive from that source shall exonerate to that
extent the employer from the obligations imposed on him.
Such action against third parties responsible for the
accident may also be brought by the employer at his own
risk and peril in the place and stead of the victim or his
representatives, if the latter neglect to bring such action
17* The employer may relieve himself from the obliga-
tion to pay to the victim the compensation due in cases
of temporary incapacity or from a portion only of such
compensation, if he prove :
1. That he had affiliated the victim to a mutual benefit
society and had assumed the payment of the assessment
exacted therefor ;
2. That the society assures to its menofbers in case of
accident a daily compensation.
Nevertheless if the amount of the compensation and
the value of the services assured and paid for by the
society are less than those to which the victim would
have been entitled under this act, the employer is bound
to pay him the difference. The employer's obligation con-
tinues likewise if the society neglects or becomes unable
to pay the compensation or to pay for the services it has
assumed, at the times fixed.
1*^. Workmen who usually work alone cannot be made
subject to this act through the fact of the casual collabo-
ration of one or more other workmen.
Digiti
zed by Google
— 45 —
!»• Every agreement contrary to the provisions of this
act is dejure null and void.
20« The victim is obliged, if the employer require the
same in writing, to undergo an examination by a medical
practitioner chosen and paid by the employer, and if he
refuse to submit to such examination or oppose it in any
w^ay, his right to compensation as well as all recourse for
obtaining the same remain suspended untill the examina-
tion has taken place.
SECTION III
SECURITY
. 21«The claim of the victim of the accident or his repre-
sentatives with respect to funeral expenses, as well as to
the compensation allowed in consequence of temporary
incapacity, is secured by privilege on the moveable and
immoveable property of the employer, ranking concur-
rently with the claim mentioned in paragraph 9 of article
1994 and paragraph 9 of article 2009 of the Civil Code,
respectively.
The payment ^f the compensation for permanent inca-
pacity or for an accident followed by death is secured by
a privilege of the same nature and rank, so long as the
amount required to constitute the annuity has not been
handed to an insurance company or otherwise paid under
this act.
>ECTION IV
JURISDICTION AND PROCEDURE
22« The Circuit Court takes cognizance in final resort,
to the exclusion of every other court and without any
evocation to any other court, of all claims and contesta-
tions between the victims of accidents or their represen-
tatives and the employers, with respect to funeral
expenses, as well as to the compensation allowed in con-
sequence of temporary incapacity, whatever may be the
amount of the claim.
Digiti
zed by Google
— 46 —
2S» The Superior Court takea coguizance of all claims
and contestations arising under this act, which are not
declared by the foregoing article to be within the juris-
diction of the Circuit Court.
24. The provisions contained in articles 1150 to 1162,
inclusively, of the Code of Civil Procedure, respecting^
summary matters other than those between lessors and
lessees, apply to all such claims and contestations, as well
as to the incidents of procedure and to the execution of
the judgments to which they give rise.
25. The court or judge may, at any stage of the pro-
ceedings before judgment, grant on petition an interim
daily allowance to the victim or his legal representatives.
The judgment or order granting such allowance is exe-
cuted notwithstanding review or appeal in cases where
such recourse lies.
26« Judgments rendered by the Superior Court in
virtue of this act are susceptible of review or appeal
under the rules of common law. The appeal must
however be taken within litteen days from the date of
the judgment on pain of forfeiture.
27. Provisional execution may be ordered, notwiths-
tanding review or appeal, with or without security, at
the request of the victim or of his representatives, iu
accordance with the provisions of articles 695 to 597 of
the Code of Civil Procedure.
28. Suits for the recovery of compensation and other
allowances provided for by this act are prescribed in one
year.
2»« A demand for the revision of the compensation
founded on an aggravation of or improvement in the
victim's condition, may be brought within four years
from the date of the agreement between the parties or of
the final judgment.
Digiti
zed by Google
— 47 —
SECTION V
FISCAL PROVISIONS
30« All jadioial proceedings under this act are exei
from the duties and taxes enacted by Order in Cour
No. 180, of the 27th March, 1902.
SECTION 'VI
COMING INTO FORCE
31« This act shall come into force on the day o
sanction.
Digiti
zed by Google
— 48 —
WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION ACT, 1897
[60 and 61 Vict, ch. SI.]
An Act to amend the Law with respect to Compensa-
tion to Workmen for accidental Injuries suflFered in
the course of their Employment. [6th August 1897 ]
Be it enacted by the Queen*s most Excellent Majesty,
by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiri-
Inal and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parlia-
ment assembled, and by the authority of the same, as
follows : —
!• — (1.) If in any employment to which this Act
applies personal injury by accident arising out of and
in course of the employment is caused to a workman, his
employer shall, subject as hereinafter mentioued, be liable
to pay compensation in accordance with the First Sche-
dule to this Act.
(2.) Provided that:—
(a ) The employer shall not be liable under this Act
in respect of any injury which does not disable the work-
man for a period of at least two weeks from earning full
wages at the work at which he was employed ;
(b.) When the injury was caused by the personal negli-
gence or wilful act of the employer, or of some person for
whose act or default the emplover is responsible, nothing*
in this Act shall affect any civil liability of the employer,
but in that case the workman may, at his option, either
claim compensation under this Act, or take the same pio-
ceedings as were open to him before the commencement
of this Act ; but the employer shall not be liable to
pay compensation for injury to a workman by accident
arising out of and in the course of the employment both
independently of and also under this Act, and shall not
be liable to any proceedings independently of this Act,
except in case of such personal negligence or wilful act
as aforesaid ;
Digiti
zed by Google
— 4y —
(c.) If it is proved that the injury to a workman is
attributable to the serious and wilful misconduct of that
workman, any compensation claimed- in respect of that
injury shall be disallowed.
(3.) If any question arises in any proceedings under
this Act as to the liability to pay compensation under
this Act (including any question as to whether the
employment is one to wnich this Act applies), or as to
the amount or duration of coiupensation under this Act,
the question, if not settled by agreement, shall, subject
to the provisions of the Firsi; Schedule to this Act, be
settled by arbitration, in accordance with the Second
Schedule to this Act.
(4 ) If, within the time hereinafter in this Act limited
for taking proceedings, an action is brought to recover
damages independently of this Act for injury caused by
any accident, and it is determined in such action that
the injury is one for which the employer is not liable in
such action, but that he would have been liable to pay
compensation under the provisions of this Act, the action
shall be dismissed ; but the court in which the action is
tried shall, if the plaintiff shall so choose, proceed to
assess such compensation, and shall be at liberty to
deduct from such compensation all the costs which, in
its judgment, have been caused by the plaintiff bringing
the action instead of proceeding under this Act.
In any proceeding under this subsection when the
Court assesses the compensation it shall give a certificate
of the compensation it has aw^arded and the directions it
has given as to the deduction for costs, and such certi-
ficate shall have the force and eflfect of an award under
this Act.
(5.) Nothing in this Act shall affect any proceeding for
a fine under the enactm^^nts relating to mines or facto-
ries, or the application of any such fine, but if any such
fine, or any part thereof, has been applied for the biuefit
of the person injured, the amount so applied shall be
taken into account in estimating the compensation uader
this Act.
4
Digiti
zed by Google
- 50 —
2.— (1) Froceedings for the retovery under this Act ot
cottJpeDsatioB for an injury shall not be maintainable
tiiiless notice of the accident has been given as soon as
practicable after the happening thereof and before the
workman has voluntarily left the employment in which
he was injured, and unless the claijn for compensation
•with respect to such accident has be'en made within six
iflonths from the occurence of the accident cau ing the
injury, or, in case of death, within six months from the
time of death. Provided always that the want of or any
defect or inaccuracy in such notice shall not be a bar to
the maintenance of such proceedings, if it is found in the
proceedings for settling the claim that the employer is
not prejudiced in his defence by the want, defect, or inac-
curacy, or that such want, defect, or inaccuracy was
occasioned by mistake or other reasonable cause.
(2.) Notice in respect of an injury under this Act shall
give the name and address of the person injured, and shall
state in ordinary language the cause of the injury and
the date at which it was sustained, and shall be served
on the employer, or, if there is more than one employer,
upon one of such employers.
(3.) The notice may be served by delivering the same
to or at the residence or place of business of the person
on whom it is to be served.
(4.) The notice may also be served by post by a re-
gistered letter addressed to the person on whom it is to
be served at his last known place of residence or place of
business, and if served by post shall be deemed to have
been served at the time when the letter containing the
same would have been delivered in the ordinary course
of post, and in proving the service of such notice it shall
be sufficient to prove that the notice was properly
addressed and reo^istered.
"o*
(6.) ^Where the employer is a body of persons corporate
or unincorporate, the notice may also be served by deliver-
ing the same at, or by sending it by post in a registered
letter addressed to the employer at the office, or if there
Digiti
zed by Google
— 51 —
be more than one office, any one of the offices of such
body.
3« — (I.) If the Registrar of Friendly Societies, after
taking steps to ascertain the views of the employer and
workmen, certifies that any scheme of compensation,
benefit, or insurance for the workmen of an employer in
any employment, \^hetheror not such scheme includes
other employers and their workmen, is on the whole not
less favourable to the general body of workmen and their
dependants than the provisions of this Act, the employer
may, until the certificate is revoked, contract with any
of those workmen that the provisions of the scheme shall
be substituted for the provisions of this Act, and there-
upon the employer shall be liable only in accordance
with the scheme, but, save as aforesaid, this Act shall
apply notwithstanding any contract to the contrary made
' after the commencement of this Act.
(2) The Registrar may give a certificate to expire at
the end of a limited period not lesjj than five years.
(3.) No scheme shall be so certified which contains an
obligation upon the workmen to join the scheme as a
condition of their hiring
(4) If complaint is made to the Registrar of Friendly
Societies by or on behalf of the workmen of any employer
that the provisions of any scheme are no longer on the
whole so favourable to the general body of workmen of
such employer and their dependants as the provisions of
this Act, or that the provisions of such scheme are being
violated, or that the scheme is not being fairly adminis-
tered, or that satisfactory reasons exist for revoking the
certificate, the Registrar shall examine into the com-
plaint, and, if satisfied that good cause exists for such
complaint, shall, unless the cause of complaint is remov-
ed, revoke the certificate.
(5 ) When a certificate is revoked or expires any
moneys or securities held for the purpose of the scheme
sha.l bd distributed as may be arranged by the employer
Digiti
zed by Google
— 52 —
and workmen, or as may be determined by the Registrar
of Friendly Societies in the event of a ditfeience of opi-
nion.
(6.) Whenever a scheme has been certified as afore-
said, it shall be the duty of the employer to answer all
such inquiries and to furnish all 8uch accounts in regard
to the scheme as may be made or required by the Registrar
of Friendly b'ocieties.
(7.) The Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies shall
include in his annual report the particulars of the pro-
ceedings of the Registrar under this Act.
4. — Where, in an employment to which this Act
applies, the undertakers as hereinafter defined contract
with any person for the execution by or under such con-
tractor of any work, and the undertakers would, if such
work were executed by workmen immediately employed
by them, be liable to pay compensation under this Act
to those woikmen in respect of any accident arising out
of and in the course of their employment, the under-
takers shall be liable to pay to any workmen employed
in the execution of the work any compensation which is
payable to the workman (whether under this Act or in
respect of personal negligence or wilful act indepen-
dently of this Act) by such contractor, or would be so
payable if such contractor were an employer to whom
this Act applies.
Provided that the undertakers shall be entitled to be
indemnified by any other person who would have been
liable independently of this section.
This section shall not apply to any contract with any
person for the execution by or under such contractor of
any work which is merely ancillary or incidental to,
and is no part of, or process in, the trade or business
carried on by such undertakers respectively,
5— (1.) Where an employer becomes liable under this
Act to pay compensation in respect of any accident, and
is entitled to any sum from insurers in respect of the
Digiti
zed by Google
— 53 —
amount due to a workman under such liability, then in
the event of the employer bacomiag bankrupt, or making
acomposition or arrangement with his creditors, or if the
employer is a company of th3 company having com-
menced to be woand up, such workman shill have a first
charge upon the sum aforesaid for the amount so due and
the judge of the county court may direct the insurers to
pay such sum into the Post Office Savings Bank in the
name of the registrar of such court, and order the same
to be iavested or applied in accordance with the provi-
sions of the First Schedule hereto with reference to the
investment in the Post Office Savings Bank of any sum
allotted as compensation, and those provisions shall apply
accordingly.
(2) In the application of this section to Scotland, the
words ** have a first charge upon " shall mean ** be prefe-
rentially entitled to."
6— -Where the injury for which compensation is
payable under this Act was caused under circumstances
creating a legal liability in some person other than the
employer to pay damages in respect thereof, the workman
may, at his option, proceed, either at law against that
person to recover damages or against his employer for
compensation under this Act, but not against both, and
if compensation be paid under this Act, the employer
shall be entitled to be indemnified by the said other
person.
T*— (1.) This Act shall apply only to employment by
the undertakers as hereinafter defined, on or in or about
a railway, factory, mine, quarry, or engineering work,
and to employment by the undertakers as hereiuafter
defined on or in or about aay building which exceeds
thirty feet in height, and is either be ng constracte I or
repaired by means of a scafFoldin.?, or b dns: demolished,
or on which machinery driven by steam, water, or other
mechanical power, is being used for the purpose of the
Online Library → Horace Archambeault Québec (Province). Dept. of the Attorney General → An act respecting damages resulting from accidents to workmen: Text of the ... → online text (page 4 of 6)
Using the text of ebook An act respecting damages resulting from accidents to workmen: Text of the ... by Horace Archambeault Québec (Province). Dept. of the Attorney General active link like:
read the ebook An act respecting damages resulting from accidents to workmen: Text of the ...
read the ebook An act respecting damages resulting from accidents to workmen: Text of the ...
