Dr. Mortimer Mamelak

The plaintiff brought a tort action for a motor vehicle collision.

After a jury awarded nominal general damages (less than the statutory deductible) and past loss of income (reduced to zero by collateral benefits), the defendant brought a threshold motion to declare the plaintiff not entitled to non-pecuniary damages.

The court determined the threshold issue was not moot, despite the net zero award, for costs purposes.

The court found the plaintiff failed to establish a permanent serious impairment of an an important physical, mental, or psychological function, largely due to the plaintiff's exaggeration of symptoms and the expert witness's lack of impartiality.

Consequently, the defendant's threshold motion was granted, and the plaintiff's total damages were reduced to zero.

The defendant was deemed the successful party and awarded costs and disbursements.

The applicant was catastrophically injured in a motor vehicle accident and sought various statutory accident benefits.

The arbitrator found that the insurer's notices terminating income replacement benefits were not clear and unequivocal, meaning the limitation period had not expired.

The arbitrator determined the applicant was an employee rather than self-employed at the time of the accident.

The applicant was awarded 24-hour attendant care benefits retroactive to the accident date due to severe cognitive and behavioural impairments, despite a delay in submitting the formal application.

The arbitrator also awarded housekeeping benefits, nutritional counselling, and medical benefits for the purchase of medical marijuana, finding that marijuana was not an experimental treatment in the specific circumstances of the applicant's brain injury and chronic pain.

The appellant appealed an arbitration decision denying his claims for income replacement benefits and a determination of catastrophic impairment following a motor vehicle accident.

The Director's Delegate upheld the arbitrator's findings that the appellant did not suffer a catastrophic impairment because he lacked a diagnosable mental or behavioural disorder under s. 2(1.1)(g) of the SABS.

The Delegate also affirmed that the appellant's psychological issues were caused by pre-existing and post-accident stressors unrelated to the collision.

Furthermore, the arbitrator's refusal to admit a late-disclosed tax worksheet to prove income loss was upheld as a proper exercise of discretion.

The appeal was dismissed.

The applicant, a self-employed bagel maker, claimed he lost his business due to physical and mental impairments sustained in a motor vehicle accident.

He sought income replacement benefits, attendant care, housekeeping, and a determination of catastrophic impairment due to a mental or behavioural disorder.

The insurer denied the claims, alleging the applicant was malingering.

The arbitrator found that while the applicant suffered from genuine psychological dysfunction, it predated the accident and was caused by pre-existing business, financial, and marital stressors.

The arbitrator concluded the applicant did not suffer a catastrophic impairment, failed to prove pre-accident self-employment income, and unreasonably withheld business records.

All claims were dismissed except for a small amount of incurred treatment expenses, for which a 50% special award was granted due to the insurer's unreasonable denial.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and sought arbitration after the insurer denied his claims for income replacement, attendant care, and housekeeping benefits.

The arbitrator dismissed the claim for income replacement benefits, finding the applicant's evidence regarding his self-employment as an artist and a purported employment contract to be unreliable and contradicted by his tax returns.

The claims for attendant care and housekeeping benefits were also dismissed due to a lack of supporting evidence, including the absence of a recommendation from a qualified health practitioner and no proof that outside housekeeping services were actually engaged.

All claims were dismissed.