Ms. Wesam Alghazawi

The applicant sought a determination that she sustained a catastrophic impairment under Criterion 8 of the Schedule following a 2022 motor vehicle accident.

The respondent denied the claim, arguing her impairments stemmed from pre-existing conditions, including a prior accident and childhood trauma.

The Tribunal applied the 'but for' test for causation and found that the 2022 accident exacerbated her pre-existing psychological issues, resulting in marked impairments in activities of daily living, social functioning, and adaptation.

The Tribunal preferred the evidence of the applicant's experts and found she met the threshold for catastrophic impairment.

The applicant sought statutory accident benefits following a motor vehicle accident, including attendant care benefits and several treatment plans for occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and a chronic pain assessment.

The adjudicator dismissed the application in its entirety.

The adjudicator preferred the respondent's section 44 assessments over the applicant's evidence, finding the applicant's occupational therapy report to be of limited evidentiary value due to inconsistencies with clinical notes and records.

Furthermore, the applicant failed to meet her evidentiary burden for the treatment plans by not providing copies of the disputed OCF-18s or specific submissions addressing the goals and costs of the proposed treatments.