Family can't sue ex-cop guilty in fatal crash: lawyer

Manitoba law will prevent the family of Crystal Taman, who was killed in 2005 when an off-duty police officer crashed into her car, from seeking justice in civil court.

Taman's husband, Robert Taman, has said he is considering suing Derek Harveymordenzenk, who received a conditional sentence this week after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death.

But some Winnipeg lawyers say Taman will not be able to sue anyone in connection with his wife's death because she was killed in a car crash.

"When it comes to damages based upon death arising out of the use of a motor vehicle, the answer is no, they have no recourse," lawyer Harvey Pollock told CBC News.

Manitoba Public Insurance moved to "no-fault" auto insurance in 1994, when the legislature replaced tort compensation with a personal injury protection plan that compensates any Manitobans injured in automobile accidents according to a formula.

Under the system, Manitoba motorists involved in a collision can sue each other for out-of-pocket costs, but not for injuries or deaths.

Pollock has argued other cases in which injured car-crash victims have tried to sue, but with no success.

The no-fault rules prevent the Taman family from suing Harveymordenzenk or the East St. Paul police force that investigated the crash, or the province, Pollock said, predicting that any attempts by the Taman family to seek justice through the courts will be quashed.

"Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation would get a lawyer, and they would move to dismiss the actions because there's no jurisdiction," he said.

"We're governed by the law until such time as the legislature gets off its butt and the members start to realize that the current legislation is not fair. It may be fair to some people, but it's not fair to people who suffer the loss through death or who suffer major injuries such as quadriplegia."

The Taman family's best hope of getting answers will be through a judicial inquiry the province announced it will hold on the matter, Pollock said— although the outcome of the inquiry will not change the legal penalty the court has assessed to Harveymordenzenk.