Dr. Richard Wolbeck

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and sought statutory accident benefits for medical treatment, housekeeping, and the cost of an orthopaedic examination.

The insurer denied the claims based on an insurer's examination which concluded the applicant had sustained an uncomplicated soft tissue injury that did not require further treatment.

The arbitrator dismissed the application, finding the applicant failed to provide objective medical evidence or call treating practitioners to support his claims.

The arbitrator accepted the insurer's expert evidence and found the applicant's evidence regarding his living arrangements and housekeeping needs to be implausible and contradictory.

The applicant sought a determination that she sustained a catastrophic impairment as a result of a 1999 motor vehicle accident.

She claimed the accident caused a lumbar disc rupture that led to chronic pain and significant impairment.

The arbitrator found the applicant's testimony unreliable due to numerous inconsistencies with contemporaneous medical records, which showed no complaints of low back pain until over a year after the accident and referenced a possible second accident in 2001.

The arbitrator concluded the applicant failed to prove on a balance of probabilities that the 1999 accident caused her impairments or that she met the 55% whole person impairment threshold, dismissing the application.