George S. Gage

The Applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident during the course of his employment and initially elected to receive workers' compensation benefits.

After his condition worsened and he underwent spinal surgeries, he withdrew his election to pursue a tort claim and claim statutory accident benefits.

The Insurer raised preliminary objections that the application was out of time under subsection 32(1) of the Schedule and that the election to sue was made primarily to claim accident benefits under section 59.

The Arbitrator dismissed both objections, finding the Applicant had a reasonable explanation for the delay and that his re-election was motivated by a genuine belief he could achieve greater recovery through a tort action.

The insurer appealed an arbitration order finding that the insured, a taxi driver, was an employee rather than self-employed at the time of his motor vehicle accident.

The insured paid a flat daily lease rate for his taxi, kept all fares and tips, and reported his earnings as business income.

The Director's Delegate allowed the appeal, holding that the insured was self-employed.

The Delegate found that the arbitrator erred by redefining the employment relationship simply to allow the insured to use the more favourable four-week pre-accident income calculation period available to employees under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule.

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

He sought a declaration at arbitration regarding his entitlement to payment for expenses incurred by his rehabilitation case manager for communicating with his solicitors, despite all accounts having been paid in full by the insurer.

The insurer objected on the basis that there was no substantive dispute.

The arbitrator dismissed the application, finding that an arbitrator has no jurisdiction under the Insurance Act to make pronouncements or issue guidelines in the absence of a specific dispute over entitlement or quantum of benefits.

The insurer appealed a pre-hearing arbitrator's order requiring it to produce all internal memoranda from the date of the accident to the date the applicants requested mediation.

The applicants sought the documents to support a claim for a special award under s. 282(10) of the Insurance Act.

The Director's Delegate allowed the appeal and revoked the production order, finding that a bald assertion that benefits were unreasonably withheld is not a sufficient basis for ordering the production of the insurer's entire file.

A special award is a statutory direction to the arbitrator, not a separate claim that creates an independent basis for production.