TORONTO, April 22 (UPI) -- A Canadian appeals court has upheld a record $17 million accident award to a Toronto man who ran a red light and was brain-damaged in 2008.
The Ontario Court of Appeals rejected a challenge to the award by Ford Motor Credit LLC, which owned the leased truck involved in the June 8, 2000, crash that disabled Robert Marcoccia, then 20, the Toronto Star reported.
Court heard Marcoccia accelerated through a red light and struck a leased furniture delivery truck trying to complete a left turn.
A jury ruled in early 2007 that Marcoccia was 39 percent at fault for speeding up through the light, and the unidentified truck driver was 61 percent at fault, although details of their calculations weren't published.
Ford Motor Credit's fleet insurance policy had coverage as high as $25 million, which prompted Marcoccia's lawyers to seek the personal injury award. However, the province of Ontario has since placed a $1 million cap on the liability of leasing and rental companies for the acts of their customers, the Star said.
An appeal of the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada was a possibility, the Star said.
