Dr. Drew A. Bednar

The defendant, Sunlife Assurance Company of Canada, brought a motion seeking an order to compel the plaintiff, Suzanne McGee, to undergo a neuropsychological evaluation and to adjourn the scheduled pre-trial and trial dates.

The defendant argued this was necessary due to a perceived change in opinion from the plaintiff's orthopedic expert following a Functional Abilities Evaluation (FAE).

The court found that the orthopedic expert's subsequent letter merely summarized the FAE's conclusions, which were outside his area of expertise, and did not constitute a new expert opinion requiring a response.

The court also noted the defendant had previously decided against obtaining its own FAE.

The motion was dismissed, and the defendant was ordered to pay costs to the plaintiff.

The applicant was injured in a workplace accident and subsequently in a motor vehicle accident while on a graduated return-to-work program.

The insurer terminated statutory accident benefits, arguing the applicant had returned to his pre-accident state.

The arbitrator found that the motor vehicle accident only aggravated the pre-existing injuries for a period of six to seven months.

Relying on the treating physicians' contemporaneous records, the arbitrator concluded the applicant's ongoing disability after June 1994 was not caused by the motor vehicle accident.

Claims for ongoing weekly income benefits and supplementary medical expenses were dismissed.