Dr. Dana Wilson

The plaintiff sought damages for injuries sustained in a rear-end motor vehicle accident.

Two years after the accident, the plaintiff suffered a severe stroke that left him totally disabled.

The central issue was whether the accident caused the stroke due to the plaintiff's alleged increased smoking and sedentary lifestyle following the collision.

The court found the stroke was an unrelated intervening event, relying on expert evidence that the plaintiff's heavy smoking predated the accident and his lifestyle was not sufficiently sedentary to cause a deep vein thrombosis.

The court awarded $100,000 in general damages for the accident-related chronic pain and mechanical back issues, but denied future income loss and most future care costs, as the plaintiff's total disability was caused by the non-compensable stroke.

The defendant insurer brought a motion seeking two defence medical examinations by an orthopedic specialist and an occupational therapist and production of the clinical notes and records underlying two expert reports recently served by the plaintiff.

The action arose from a 1994 motor vehicle accident and a dispute over termination of statutory accident benefits.

The court held that the defendant had previously obtained numerous medical assessments and had set the matter down for trial, indicating readiness to proceed on the existing evidence.

In the absence of evidence demonstrating a substantial and unexpected change in circumstances, the defendant failed to meet the threshold required to reopen interlocutory steps.

The request for production of underlying clinical notes and records was also rejected.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and sought income replacement benefits (IRBs) and rehabilitation benefits from her insurer.

She continued to work as a process server for several months post-accident before stopping due to chronic pain.

The arbitrator found that the applicant suffered a substantial inability to perform the essential tasks of her employment and awarded IRBs for 103 weeks, plus an additional 9 weeks during a crisis period when she was completely unable to engage in any employment.

The arbitrator also awarded rehabilitation benefits for a driver education instructor course, finding it was a reasonable and necessary measure to reintegrate her into the labour market.

The insurer's failure to promptly advise the applicant that a treatment plan was required precluded it from relying on her failure to submit one.

A claim for a special award was dismissed as the insurer's reliance on its medical expert was not unreasonable.

The Applicant sought weekly income benefits following a motor vehicle accident.

The Insurer terminated benefits, arguing the Applicant was no longer substantially unable to perform his employment tasks.

The Arbitrator found the Applicant to be highly unreliable, noting he had worked as a meat cutter for six weeks following the accident while claiming total disability, and had fabricated employment records.

Relying on the objective medical evidence and the Applicant's extensive pre-existing back issues, the Arbitrator concluded the Applicant was not significantly injured in the accident and was never entitled to the benefits received.

The Applicant was ordered to repay $25,660.07 to the Insurer.