Anna-Marie Castrodale

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and received statutory accident benefits from the insurer.

The insurer subsequently terminated his weekly income replacement benefits.

The arbitrator found that the insurer unreasonably withheld benefits by ignoring overwhelming medical evidence of the applicant's ongoing cognitive impairment and relying on flawed reports that supported termination.

The arbitrator characterized the insurer's conduct as wilful blindness.

The applicant was awarded $64,177 in arrears of income replacement benefits, $48,096 in interest, a special award of $39,295 under s. 282(10) of the Insurance Act, and $42,908 in arbitration expenses.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and claimed ongoing income replacement benefits.

The insurer terminated benefits based on independent medical examinations and a DAC report suggesting the applicant could work.

The arbitrator found the applicant suffered significant cognitive impairments rendering him competitively unemployable, characterizing his post-accident work at his brother's video store as a sheltered workshop.

The arbitrator ordered the reinstatement of income replacement benefits at $340.53 per week and found the insurer liable for a special award for unreasonably withholding benefits by relying on flawed reports that ignored the overwhelming evidence of the applicant's disability.

The insurer brought a motion to reopen an arbitration hearing to introduce a new Designated Assessment Centre (DAC) report obtained after the hearing concluded.

The arbitrator applied the Palmer test for the admission of new evidence and found that the substance of the evidence was already available and would not have affected the result.

The motion was dismissed, and the insurer was ordered to pay $600 in expenses.