Nancy LeBlanc, who suffers from chronic seizures as a result of chemical burns caused by a defective airbag 25 years ago, says she has been abandoned by the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ), which promised to help her before coming to power.
“I was treated with no respect, I was thrown away after being used,” says Nancy LeBland.
The woman, who lives near Quebec, lives with recurring bouts of severe pain that send her to the emergency room for morphine injections. She follows a regimen that requires her to swallow 30 pills a day, more than 10,000 pills a year.
“Despite everything, the pain continues,” he said. I always get electric shocks in my brain and face 24/7. On the pain scale, I’m at a 7 and an 8 everyday. »
His only lifeline: going to live in a warm climate. His neurologist recommends spending six months in such a climate because the cold on his face aggravates the problem and causes practically unbearable pain. She rarely leaves her apartment in winter because the cold is so painful to her face that it causes convulsions.
I need emergency funds to get me to a place where I can maintain my quality of life and my health.
Nancy LeBland
In 2017, Benoît Charette, current environment minister and MP for Deux-Montagnes with the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ), contacted him at home. “He told me that in the coming elections, if his political party comes back to power with a majority, he will do all he can to help me,” he recalled. However, after CAQ came to power, nothing was done to improve its situation, Mr.me Blonde.
On May 30, 2019, at the invitation of Sylvain Levesque, Mr.me LeBland and his wife went to the National Assembly and petitioned to change the no-fault plan (No mistake in English) in Quebec. Since then, the two politicians have cut ties with Mme Blonde.
Contacted by Pres, Minister Benoît Charette’s office did not respond to our interview requests. MP Sylvain Levesque’s office declined our request for an interview, instead inviting us to contact the Société de l’Assurance Automobile du Québec (SAAQ).
Defective airbag
In 1995, Ms.me LeBland suffered significant chemical burns to his face. The airbag failed to deploy, sending -200 degree gases into his face, causing permanent damage.
Elsewhere in North America, Nancy LeBland may have brought a civil suit against GM. But not in Quebec, where the no-fault rule prohibits this approach.
Since then, Transports Quebec directs it to SAAQ, which then directs it to Transports Quebec, and so on.
“I typed two petitions with two political parties, and one paragraph to the National Assembly… I can explain to them, sit, give them documents, nothing can be done, it will not get done. At one point, I am a man,” says M.me Blonde.
Gino Desrosiers, spokesperson for the SAAQ, said the agency will introduce a minimum income replacement compensation payment for clients who suffer injuries or the consequences of a catastrophic event in 2022, based on the average weekly income of workers in Quebec.
“As the system is in its first year, the agency will later assess whether there is a need for revision of this regulation,” he said. Mme LeBland gets everything he needs according to the insurance coverage provided by law. Specifically, he receives income replacement compensation, compensation for consequences and other compensation. »
Mme LeBland said she and her caregiver each receive $1,820 a month, which allows them to meet their basic needs but not spend the winter months in warmer climates.
“When I spend the winter months in a warm, dry place I have fewer seizures, but I can’t afford it financially,” says Ms.me Blonde.
“A Disappointing Hope”
Marc Belmare, a lawyer who has supported her in the case for years, notes that “the CAQ unfortunately did not honor its obligations” to Nancy LeBland.
“Nancy LeBland was seriously injured, she was disfigured with big burns on her face. She can’t go out in the winter, she goes out in the summer. It’s a miserable life. »
He said he wants to sue the automaker responsible for his accident, GM, but can’t because his accident happened in Quebec.
“CAQ promised him to touch on this, compensate him, improve his money and allow him to sue the manufacturer, but it was never done. »
1R July 2022, Act 22 amended. Some allowances have been increased, but this has no effect on M’s position.me LeBland, Rating Me Bellemare. “It’s a disappointed hope. »
The lawyer says the only way to get her better terms is to change the law.
“From 1R March 1978, same thing: no recourse against automobile manufacturers in Quebec, whereas elsewhere it can. So I can’t move. This is pathetic. »
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