The plaintiff sustained soft tissue injuries to her neck in a motor vehicle accident.
At trial, the judge found she had suffered a permanent serious impairment of an important physical function, meeting the threshold under s. 267.5(5) of the Insurance Act, and the jury awarded her $7,000.
The defendant appealed the threshold determination.
The Divisional Court allowed the appeal, finding that while the impairment was permanent and affected an important function, the trial judge failed to properly analyze whether the impairment was 'serious' as required by Meyer v. Bright.
The court concluded the plaintiff's impairment, which primarily reduced her frequency of ballroom dancing, did not meet the threshold of seriousness.
