The applicant was injured in two separate automobile accidents.
She claimed income replacement benefits from the first accident and caregiver benefits from the second.
The insurer argued that under section 36(1) of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, she could not receive both benefits concurrently, and sought to deduct an alleged overpayment from the first accident against the caregiver benefits.
The arbitrator held that section 36(1) applies only to benefits claimed from a single accident and does not bar receiving different benefits from separate accidents.
Furthermore, the insurer could not deduct past overpayments from current entitlements arising from a different accident under section 47(1).
The preliminary issues were resolved in favour of the applicant.
