Dr. Robert Gates

Following a four-week trial where the plaintiff was awarded over $7 million for a traumatic brain injury sustained after jumping from a moving school bus, the court determined the costs payable by the defendant.

The court awarded partial indemnity costs up to the date of the plaintiffs' offer to settle, and substantial indemnity costs thereafter.

The court adjusted the 2005 Costs Grid for inflation to determine appropriate hourly rates for counsel.

In assessing disbursements, the court reduced several expert witness fees because the plaintiffs failed to provide sufficient information regarding the experts' hourly rates and time spent.

The court also disallowed the premium for adverse costs insurance, finding it was not a compensable disbursement as it did not advance the litigation.

Total costs of $741,266.08 were awarded to the plaintiffs.

The applicant, a five-year-old pedestrian, was struck by a vehicle and sustained severe injuries, including a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 9 recorded by paramedics shortly after the accident.

The insurer argued the low GCS score was caused by hemodynamic instability due to blood loss rather than a brain impairment.

The arbitrator found that the applicant suffered a brain impairment as a result of the accident, as the massive blood loss deprived the brain of oxygen, impairing its function and resulting in the GCS score of 9.

The arbitrator concluded the applicant met the definition of catastrophic impairment under subsection 2(1.1)(e)(i) of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule.

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.