Dr. Y-H. Siow

The applicant sought a determination that he sustained a catastrophic impairment under criterion 4 of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule following a motor vehicle accident.

The applicant relied on a SPECT scan to demonstrate a traumatic brain injury.

The Tribunal found that a SPECT scan is not a medically recognized brain diagnostic technology, as it is not sufficiently reliable to identify a traumatic brain injury resulting from an accident.

Furthermore, the Tribunal preferred the respondent's radiological evidence, which concluded that the SPECT scan findings were nonspecific and could be explained by other etiologies, such as pre-existing psychological conditions or prior head traumas.

The application was dismissed, and no award for unreasonable delay was granted.

The applicant sought statutory accident benefits following two motor vehicle accidents that resulted in a traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome.

The respondent insurer denied funding for optometry, speech-language pathology, and physiotherapy treatment plans.

The Tribunal found the optometry and physiotherapy plans reasonable and necessary, preferring the evidence of the applicant's treating practitioners over the insurer's examiners, noting the applicant's measurable improvement with treatment and deterioration when treatment ceased.

However, the Tribunal denied the speech-language pathology assessment, finding insufficient contemporaneous medical evidence of communication impairments.