Dr. Longhorn-Geddes

The appellant appealed a Licence Appeal Tribunal decision denying her claim for catastrophic impairment and income replacement benefits following a 2015 motor vehicle accident.

The Tribunal had found that the accident was not a necessary cause of her psychological impairment and that a subsequent 2018 volleyball injury was an intervening event.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding no extricable errors of law in the Tribunal's assessment of causation, pre-existing injuries, or the intervening event.

The applicant sought statutory accident benefits following a motor vehicle accident, claiming he sustained a catastrophic impairment under criterion 7 of the Schedule.

The central dispute involved competing psychological assessments, with the applicant's expert assigning a 20% whole person impairment rating and the respondent's expert assigning 0%.

The Tribunal preferred the respondent's expert, finding that the assigned scores more accurately reflected the applicant's level of functioning and testimony regarding his return to work and socializing.

As a result, the applicant failed to meet the 55% threshold for catastrophic impairment.

The claims for various assessments, an award, and interest were consequently dismissed.

The applicant sought a determination that she sustained a catastrophic (CAT) impairment due to psychological issues following a 2015 motor vehicle accident, along with entitlement to income replacement benefits (IRBs).

The Tribunal found significant inconsistencies in the applicant's reported pre- and post-accident functioning, noting she continued to work for two and a half years post-accident.

The Tribunal determined that an intervening volleyball injury in 2018 was the actual cause of her decline in function and inability to work.

Relying on the respondent's psychological assessment which identified symptom exaggeration, the Tribunal concluded the accident was not a necessary cause of her impairments.

The application for CAT status, IRBs, interest, and an award was dismissed.