A Nova Scotia man who broke his foot after crashing his car driving the wrong way down a Montreal expressway tunnel says the city must pay his damages or else he'll sue.

Cam Cinar, a theatre student, was in Montreal for his spring break on Feb. 22 when he drove his Mercedes downtown and crashed it underground.

He accidentally turned into a one-way tunnel under the Ville-Marie Expressway from the St. Marc and Baile Sts. intersection, and struck an oncoming minivan, breaking the driver's legs.

Cinar's car was totalled and he broke his foot.

Montreal police are investigating but said a fallen one-way street sign definitely played a role in the accident.

"There were no traffic signs and from what neighbours are telling us, it was taken down for snow removal [crews] that have been working in the area in the past couple weeks or so," said police spokesman Yannick Ouimet.

Cinar's lawyer, Jordan Charness, said the city of Montreal should pay his client's medical bills and car damages despite Quebec's no fault insurance laws.

"We're going to try to negotiate with the city to begin with, rather than starting a lawsuit immediately in the hopes that they're going to do the right thing and try to come to a reasonable settlement," he said.

"If we do not have one in very short order, we will be forced to take a lawsuit against the city and find out what they have to say about all this."

Normally, a lawsuit would be impossible because of the no-fault insurance laws in the province, Charness said.

But because Cinar is not from Quebec, the lawyer said he may be able to slip past the rules. "The difference here is that he's not a Quebec resident, and it was not a Quebec car, so he doesn't fall under the no-fault principles," he said.

Officials with the downtown borough of Ville-Marie said there have been problems with the sign falling down in the past, but workers have replaced it since the accident.