Harvey Savage

The applicant sought statutory accident benefits after a heavy metal garage door fell on him while he was walking through a doorway at a storage facility.

He had been loading items into a parked truck.

The insurer denied benefits on the basis that the incident was not an 'accident' under the Schedule.

The arbitrator found that while loading a vehicle is an ordinary use, the use or operation of the vehicle did not directly cause the applicant's injuries.

The falling garage door was an intervening act and the dominant feature of the incident.

The application for arbitration was dismissed.

The applicant was injured in a rear-end motor vehicle accident and sought accident benefits, including an Income Replacement Benefit (IRB), medical benefits, and the cost of examinations.

The arbitrator dismissed the claim for an IRB, finding the applicant failed to prove he was employed at the time of the accident and failed to attend required insurer examinations.

However, the arbitrator found that the applicant's physical and psychological injuries fell outside the Minor Injury Guideline (MIG), preferring the evidence of the applicant's experts over the insurer's experts.

The arbitrator concluded the applicant was not malingering and that the proposed medical treatments and assessments were reasonable and necessary.

The claim for a Special Award was dismissed as the applicant and his counsel contributed to the delays.

Following the dismissal of the applicant's claim for statutory accident benefits, the insurer sought partial indemnity expenses of $13,073.98 for the arbitration proceeding.

The arbitrator considered the criteria under Regulation 664, noting the insurer's success and credibility concerns regarding the applicant's testimony.

However, given the brevity of the three-hour hearing and the lack of complexity, the arbitrator fixed the expenses payable by the applicant to the insurer at $5,000.00 inclusive of fees, disbursements, and taxes.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and applied for statutory accident benefits.

Following a pre-hearing where the applicant failed to appear and her counsel was removed from the record, the arbitrator ordered the applicant to contact the tribunal by a specified date.

The applicant failed to respond or provide written submissions.

The arbitrator dismissed the application for arbitration due to the applicant's failure to meet her onus of proof and non-compliance with the tribunal's orders.

The insured applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and applied for statutory accident benefits.

After mediation failed, he applied for arbitration at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario.

The applicant's former counsel was removed from the record, and the applicant subsequently failed to attend a scheduled pre-hearing and the present motion.

The arbitrator found that the applicant was either aware of the proceedings or willfully ignorant by failing to update his address.

As the applicant failed to meet his onus of proof, the insurer's motion to dismiss the application for arbitration was granted.

The insurer was awarded $500 in expenses due to the applicant unnecessarily prolonging the process.

The applicant sought statutory accident benefits following a rear-end motor vehicle collision.

The insurer denied the claims on the basis that the applicant's injuries fell within the Minor Injury Guideline (MIG).

The arbitrator found the applicant's testimony lacked credibility, noting inconsistencies between her evidence at the hearing and her self-reporting to medical experts.

The arbitrator rejected the applicant's expert reports because they relied on her inconsistent narrative and lacked clinical testing details.

The application for arbitration was dismissed, and the insurer was awarded its expenses.

The Applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and sought statutory accident benefits from the Insurer.

After the Insurer paid the outstanding income replacement benefits, the Applicant sought to withdraw the arbitration on a no-costs basis, which the Insurer opposed.

The matter proceeded to an expense hearing.

The Arbitrator found that the Applicant unnecessarily prolonged the proceedings by failing to accept earlier offers to withdraw on a no-costs basis, given the dim prospects of success due to limitation issues and a lack of evidence.

The Applicant was ordered to pay the Insurer's costs fixed at $6,000, and the Applicant's request for costs was dismissed.

The applicant applied for statutory accident benefits following a motor vehicle accident.

At the scheduled arbitration hearing, the applicant failed to attend.

The applicant's counsel brought a motion to be removed from the record, citing a complete breakdown in the solicitor-client relationship and an inability to contact the applicant despite numerous attempts.

The arbitrator granted the motion to remove counsel.

Consequently, as the applicant failed to attend the hearing and meet his onus of proof, the arbitrator dismissed the application for arbitration.

The insurer brought a motion to dismiss the applicant's arbitration proceeding for accident benefits, arguing the applicant repeatedly failed to comply with his duty to provide information under section 33(1) of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule.

The self-represented applicant had attended hearings and provided some documents, though his evidence was incomplete.

The arbitrator distinguished cases where applicants completely failed to attend proceedings, finding that while the applicant's non-compliance was worthy of criticism, it did not warrant denying him the right to present evidence at a hearing.

The motion to dismiss was denied and the matter was referred back for a pre-hearing teleconference.

The applicant sought statutory accident benefits following a motor vehicle accident.

At the hearing, the applicant requested an adjournment to retain new counsel, which the insurer opposed, citing extensive evidence of fraud.

During the hearing on the adjournment request, the applicant's father disrupted the proceedings and the applicant unilaterally abandoned the hearing.

The arbitrator dismissed the application due to the applicant's abandonment and failure to present evidence, and awarded the insurer $38,486.57 in expenses.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and applied for statutory accident benefits.

After mediation failed, she applied for arbitration.

At a pre-hearing, her counsel was removed from the record due to a breakdown in the solicitor-client relationship.

The applicant subsequently failed to attend the scheduled arbitration hearing by teleconference.

The insurer brought a motion to dismiss the application.

The arbitrator granted the motion, finding the applicant failed to meet her onus of proof by not attending, and dismissed the application for arbitration, awarding $1,000 in expenses to the insurer.

The applicant sought statutory accident benefits after slipping and falling on ice at a gas station.

He had finished refueling his vehicle, left it parked at the pump, and was walking back to his car after paying inside the convenience store when he fell.

The insurer denied benefits on the basis that the incident was not an 'accident' under the Schedule.

The arbitrator applied the two-part test and found that the incident did not arise out of the ordinary use or operation of an automobile, and even if it did, the use or operation did not directly cause the impairment.

The slip and fall on ice was an intervening event.

The application for arbitration was dismissed.

The applicant applied for arbitration regarding statutory accident benefits following a motor vehicle accident.

After her counsel was removed from the record due to an inability to contact her, the applicant failed to attend the scheduled arbitration hearing despite receiving notice.

The insurer brought a motion to dismiss the application.

The arbitrator granted the motion, finding that the applicant failed to meet her onus of proof by not attending the hearing.

The application for arbitration was dismissed with no costs awarded.