Kevin So

The appellant, who was deemed catastrophically impaired following a motor vehicle accident, appealed a Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) decision dismissing his claim for attendant care benefits.

The Divisional Court found that the LAT Vice-Chair erred in law by providing inadequate, conclusory reasons and conflating the test for 'reasonable and necessary' expenses with procedural non-compliance.

The court set aside the LAT decision and remitted the matter for a fresh hearing before a differently constituted tribunal.

The appellant appealed a Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) decision denying her post-104-week income replacement benefits following a motor vehicle accident.

The appellant argued the LAT adjudicator erred in law by failing to reference a Functional Capacity Evaluation, ignoring subjective evidence, demonstrating bias, and misapplying the test for suitable alternative employment.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding that the adjudicator's failure to mention specific evidence did not constitute an error of law, there was no reasonable apprehension of bias, and the adjudicator's factual findings supported the conclusion regardless of the specific employment factors considered.

The applicant sought judicial review of a Licence Appeal Tribunal decision regarding statutory accident benefits.

The Divisional Court declined to exercise its discretion to hear the application, finding that the applicant ought to have pursued a statutory appeal under s. 11(6) of the Licence Appeal Tribunal Act, 1999, which limits appeals to questions of law.

The court held there were no exceptional circumstances to justify bypassing the statutory appeal mechanism and declined to convert the application into an appeal.

The application was dismissed without prejudice to the applicant seeking an extension of time to pursue a statutory appeal.