Salary continued by family business during disability treated as a loan, not deductible employment income.
The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and claimed income replacement benefits (IRBs).
The insurer denied IRBs on the basis that the applicant continued to receive her full salary from her employer, a closely-held corporation in which she and her husband were majority shareholders.
The arbitrator found that the payments made while the applicant was completely unable to work were a loan, not employment income, and therefore not deductible from IRBs.
However, the full salary paid during periods when she returned to work part-time was deductible as post-accident employment income, as her work was commercially productive.
The arbitrator also determined that the applicant was substantially disabled for specific periods, but not continuously, relying on independent medical and functional assessments over her subjective reports of pain.
OFSCDRSOntario Financial Services Commission - Dispute Resolution ServicesSep 16, 1999
