Lloyd Richards

Following a preliminary issue hearing where the insurer successfully argued the applicant was precluded from receiving statutory accident benefits due to her election under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, the insurer sought its expenses.

The arbitrator declined to award expenses to the insurer, finding that while the insurer was successful, the applicant faced a legitimate and novel preliminary issue concerning the interplay between the statutory accident benefits scheme and the workers' compensation scheme.

The arbitrator ordered that each party bear its own expenses.

In an arbitration for statutory accident benefits, the insurer brought a preliminary motion to exclude the applicant's documents and witnesses due to late service.

The arbitrator excluded the applicant's documents under Rule 39.3(c) of the Dispute Resolution Practice Code because they were served less than 30 days before the hearing and no extraordinary circumstances justified the delay.

However, the arbitrator declined to exclude the applicant's medical witnesses under Rules 41 and 42.

The arbitration was stayed pending any appeal of these evidentiary rulings.