Kristofer Angle

The applicants were injured in a motor vehicle accident during the course of their employment.

They elected to opt out of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA) scheme to join a class action lawsuit against the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and subsequently claimed statutory accident benefits from the respondent.

When the class action was dismissed, the respondent terminated their accident benefits, arguing the applicants were required to seek WSIA compensation since they no longer had a viable court action.

The Tribunal held that the applicants' election to sue was made in good faith and not primarily for the purpose of claiming accident benefits.

The Tribunal further found that the legislation does not permit a retroactive reassessment of the election based on the ultimate outcome of the civil litigation, and ordered that the applicants remain entitled to accident benefits.