Dr. M. Virani

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and claimed an income replacement benefit based on self-employment as an Amway distributor.

The insurer paid an other disability benefit.

The arbitrator found that the applicant was not self-employed at the time of the accident but qualified for an income replacement benefit because she had been employed as a child care worker within the 156 weeks before the accident.

The arbitrator concluded that the applicant's physical and psychological impairments, including an inability to control her anger, rendered her substantially disabled from working as a child care worker.

The applicant was awarded income replacement benefits, with a credit to the insurer for other disability benefits paid.

The claim for a special award was dismissed.

The applicant was injured in a minor motor vehicle accident and received statutory accident benefits until December 1993.

She sought ongoing weekly income benefits, claiming she was substantially unable to perform her pre-accident job as a Client Service Officer due to fibromyalgia and depression.

The arbitrator dismissed the claim for ongoing benefits, finding no objective signs of disability, noting the minor nature of the accident, and relying on surveillance evidence and the applicant's undisputed ability to work part-time.

The arbitrator awarded the applicant her arbitration expenses, finding the claim was not frivolous or vexatious.