A bus rider who claimed she was an "object" her bus collided with has lost her fight for accident benefits at Ontario's Divisional Court.
In a decision released March 13, 2026, a three-judge panel dismissed both an appeal and a judicial review application brought by Sandra Mohammed against TTC Insurance Company Limited and the Licence Appeal Tribunal. The ruling reinforces a provision in Ontario's Insurance Act that shuts out statutory accident benefits for public transit passengers when the vehicle is not involved in an actual collision.
The incident dates back to November 3, 2022. Mohammed was riding a public transit bus when a fire truck with its emergency lights activated travelled through the intersection ahead. Because the vehicle in front of the bus stopped, the bus stopped abruptly. Mohammed was thrown forward and alleged she was injured by contact with the interior of the bus.
She applied for statutory accident benefits from TTC Insurance Company Limited, which denied her claim. Mohammed challenged the denial before the Licence Appeal Tribunal, which considered as a preliminary issue whether her benefits were barred by section 268(1.1) of the Insurance Act - a provision that bars benefits for transit passengers when the public transit vehicle "did not collide with another automobile or any other object in the incident." The Tribunal ruled against her on July 29, 2025, and denied her request for reconsideration on August 20, 2025.
She then brought her case to the Divisional Court with an unusual argument: she was "any other object" the bus collided with. The legislature, she argued, chose broad language and did not limit it — so the phrase should be given its widest possible interpretation.
Justices Matheson, O'Brien, and Mandhane were unconvinced. The phrase "any other object," the court held, cannot be plucked out of context. Read within the full provision - which deals with collisions by a public transit vehicle - it plainly does not include a person inside the bus.
"Because Ms. Mohammed was inside the bus, the bus did not collide with her," the court wrote.
The court added that the provision is not designed to capture every injury a transit rider might suffer. Passengers shut out by this section can still pursue compensation through a tort claim - which, the court noted, Mohammed has already done.
Mohammed was ordered to pay $5,000, all-inclusive, in costs to TTC Insurance, as agreed by the parties.
For the insurance industry, the ruling offers clear guidance on the reach of section 268(1.1). It confirms that where a public transit vehicle does not collide with another automobile or an external object, the statutory exception applies - and benefits are not payable.
The case is Mohammed v. TTC Insurance Company Limited et al, 2026 ONSC 1477 (Divisional Court File Nos. DC-25-00000713-0000 and DC-25-00000715-00JR).
