That bites.

• Author: Mitchell, Teresa
• Position: Accident insurance; mosquito bite; West Nile Virus - Brief article - Case overview

An Ontario plasterer working outside was bitten by a mosquito, contracted West Nile Virus, and was left a paraplegic. His insurance company refused his claim, stating that what happened to him was a disease and not an accident. The trial judge agreed but the Ontario Court of Appeal unanimously overturned that verdict and ruled that he was entitled to coverage. It said that the cause of his injury was an accident, "an unforeseen and unexpected event that was caused by an external event--a mosquito--and falls within the ordinary definition of accident." The Court commented, "The respondent submits that a disease is not an...