Dr. Michael C. Hall

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and sought statutory accident benefits, including income replacement benefits, medical benefits for physiotherapy and chiropractic treatment, and expenses for treatment plans and family physician fees.

The insurer terminated income replacement benefits based on an orthopaedic assessment and disputed the other claims.

The arbitrator dismissed the applicant's claims, finding insufficient evidence to support her inability to work or the necessity of the disputed medical expenses.

The arbitrator also dismissed the insurer's claim for repayment of its assessment fee, concluding the arbitration was not frivolous or vexatious from the outset.

The Applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and sought statutory accident benefits, including weekly childcare and medical/rehabilitation benefits, after the Insurer terminated them.

The Arbitrator found the Applicant lacked credibility regarding her pre-accident activities and initial disability, denying weekly benefits for the period immediately following termination.

However, the Arbitrator accepted that a subsequent disc herniation and sciatica exacerbation were causally related to the accident, awarding weekly benefits for a limited period in 1995.

The Arbitrator also awarded various medical and rehabilitation expenses and ordered a $500 special award against the Insurer for unreasonably delaying certain payments.

The applicant sought statutory accident benefits following a motor vehicle accident.

The insurer had paid weekly benefits and physiotherapy expenses but terminated them, arguing the applicant no longer suffered a substantial inability to perform essential tasks, and sought repayment of benefits paid after March 1992.

The arbitrator found the applicant and her family physician lacked credibility, noting they had deliberately withheld information about significant pre-existing conditions and a prior work-related accident.

Concluding that the motor vehicle accident did not materially aggravate her pre-existing conditions, the arbitrator dismissed the claims for ongoing benefits and ordered the applicant to repay the weekly benefits and physiotherapy expenses received after March 16, 1992.

The applicant's claim for arbitration expenses was also denied.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and received statutory accident benefits until the insurer terminated weekly income benefits.

The applicant sought arbitration for ongoing income benefits and rehabilitation expenses.

The arbitrator found that the applicant's wrist injury prevented him from performing his pre-accident heavy manual labour as a pool installer, entitling him to income benefits up to the 156-week mark.

Furthermore, the arbitrator concluded that the injury continuously prevented the applicant from engaging in any employment for which he was reasonably suited by education, training, or experience, entitling him to post-156 week benefits.

The arbitrator also awarded rehabilitation benefits and arbitration expenses.

The applicant was struck by a car while crossing the street, sustaining pelvic fractures, a closed head injury, and significant soft tissue injuries.

She received weekly income benefits until the insurer terminated them, arguing she could return to her job as a sewing machine operator.

The arbitrator found that the applicant's chronic pain prevented her from maintaining the sustained positions, speed, and dexterity required for her piecework job, entitling her to benefits under section 12(1) for the initial 156-week period.

However, the applicant failed to establish that she was continuously prevented from engaging in any occupation for which she was reasonably suited, so benefits under section 12(5)(b) were denied.

The arbitrator also ordered the insurer to reimburse the applicant for a new mattress, finding it was a reasonable expense required because of the accident to help with sleep disturbances.

The applicant, a retired 63-year-old, was struck by a vehicle and claimed weekly accident benefits under section 13 of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule.

The insurer terminated benefits on the basis of an independent medical examination.

The arbitrator found that while the applicant suffered ongoing difficulties with his neck, back, knee, and hand, he was not substantially unable to perform his pre-accident essential tasks, which included housework, grocery shopping, and religious activities.

Although he could no longer engage in his woodworking hobby, the arbitrator held that, considered as a whole and with reasonable modifications, he was substantially able to perform his essential tasks.

The claims for weekly benefits and a special award were dismissed, but the applicant was awarded his arbitration expenses.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and received weekly income benefits from the insurer until they were terminated.

The applicant disputed the termination and applied for arbitration.

At the hearing, the applicant's representative requested an adjournment, which was denied due to a lack of reasonable grounds and a history of uncooperative behaviour, including failing to attend a pre-hearing discussion and medical examinations.

The applicant withdrew from the hearing.

The arbitrator heard evidence from the insurer, including medical reports indicating the applicant was exaggerating his disability.

The arbitrator dismissed the applicant's claim for ongoing benefits and denied his request for arbitration expenses.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and received weekly income benefits until they were terminated by the insurer.

She applied for arbitration, claiming ongoing entitlement based on an alleged pre-accident offer of full-time employment.

The arbitrator found insufficient evidence of the full-time job offer and assessed her disability based on her part-time role.

Relying on medical evidence that she was fit to return to part-time work, the arbitrator dismissed the claim for ongoing benefits but awarded the applicant her arbitration expenses.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident while laid off and receiving unemployment insurance benefits.

He applied for weekly income benefits under the No-Fault Benefits Schedule.

The insurer denied the claim, arguing he was capable of working.

The arbitrator found the applicant suffered a substantial inability to perform the essential tasks of his pre-accident employment for a limited period.

The arbitrator determined that the applicant's gross weekly income should be averaged over the full 52 weeks preceding the accident, including periods of unemployment, resulting in a weekly benefit of $455.58.

The arbitrator also held that short-term disability benefits from another plan were not 'available' to the applicant and should not be deducted.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and received weekly income benefits until July 7, 1991.

He disputed the termination of his benefits, claiming entitlement until April 1, 1992, due to an inability to perform his essential tasks as a self-employed consultant.

The arbitrator found that the medical evidence, including testimony from the insurer's orthopaedic expert and the applicant's former family physician, did not support the claim of ongoing disability.

The application for ongoing weekly income benefits was dismissed.

The applicant, a self-employed taxi driver, was injured in a motor vehicle accident and sought no-fault income replacement and transportation benefits.

The insurer disputed the applicant's pre-accident income, arguing that self-generated trip sheets and GST returns were unreliable and that benefits should be based on his prior year's tax return.

The arbitrator found the applicant's evidence regarding his income to be contradictory and unreliable, and calculated his weekly benefits based on his 1990 tax return, ordering him to repay overpaid amounts.

The arbitrator also found that a second motor vehicle accident constituted an intervening cause, requiring the applicant to repay benefits received from the first insurer after the second accident.

Finally, the arbitrator dismissed the claim for taxi fares due to lack of credibility, awarding only the cost of a monthly public transit pass, and declined to award the applicant his arbitration expenses.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and received weekly income benefits until the insurer terminated them based on an orthopaedic surgeon's report.

The applicant sought arbitration for benefits from January to March 1991.

The arbitrator preferred the evidence of the applicant's family physician, who examined him on an ongoing basis, over the insurer's specialist who saw him only once.

The arbitrator found the applicant suffered a substantial inability to perform the essential tasks of his employment and awarded weekly income benefits until March 17, 1991, with interest.

The applicant, a pedestrian whose foot was run over by a car, sought weekly no-fault benefits after the insurer terminated them.

During the arbitration, the insurer attempted to introduce undisclosed surveillance video to impeach the applicant's credibility.

The arbitrator excluded the video, applying the rule in Browne v. Dunn, because the insurer failed to put the evidence to the applicant during cross-examination, which would cause undue prejudice and delay in an arbitration context.

On the merits, the arbitrator found that while the applicant suffered discomfort from his injuries, he failed to establish a substantial inability to perform his essential tasks.

The application for weekly benefits and interest was dismissed.