CITATION: Liu v. The Co-operators General Insurance Company, 2017 ONSC 3599
DIVISIONAL COURT FILE NO.: 067/17 DATE: 20170609
ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE DIVISIONAL COURT
R.S.J. MORAWETZ, R.S.J. GORDON and KITELEY JJ.
BETWEEN:
HUANG LIU
Christopher M. Schiffmann for the Appellant
Appellant
– and –
THE CO-OPERATORS GENERAL
David Raposo for the Respondent
INSURANCE COMPANY
Respondent
HEARD at Toronto: June 9, 2017
KITELEY J. (Orally)
[1] This is an appeal of the decision of Adjudicator C. Sewrattan dated January 12, 2017 of the Automobile Accident Benefits Branch of the Ontario License Appeal Tribunal. Counsel jointly submit that the standard of review on the matter before us today is reasonableness.
[2] Adjudicator C. Sewrattan decided that the appellant’s alleged injuries arising from a motor vehicle accident which occurred on February 20, 2015 fell within the definition of “minor injury” contained in the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule – Accidents on or after September 1, 2010, O. Reg. 34/10.
[3] In his reasons for decision, the Adjudicator reviewed the extensive reports prepared by the doctors treating the appellant as well as the reports of Dr. Ko, a physiatrist, and Dr. Weinberg, an orthopedic surgeon, each having examined the appellant at the request of Co-operators.
[4] The Adjudicator gave reasons for relying on the reports of Dr. Ko and Dr. Weinberg in preference to the others including the reliance by treating physicians on self-reports while Drs. Ko and Weinberg made objective observations.
[5] The Adjudicator found that the appellant’s contradictory answers on such basic information as to whether he was employed prior to the accident affected his credibility and caused the Adjudicator to not assign much weight to self-reports. In addition, the Adjudicator noted the appellant had not participated fully in the examination by Dr. Ko.
[6] The issues of credibility were before the Adjudicator as indicated in paragraph 31 of the respondent’s written submissions to the Adjudicator. The credibility findings are well grounded in the material before him and are not reviewable in this hearing.
[7] The Adjudicator correctly identified that the onus was on the appellant to prove on a balance of probabilities that his injuries do not fall within the Minor Injury Guideline. The Adjudicator identified that the appellant had to prove that the motor vehicle accident directly caused the impairment which he submitted required treatment beyond the Minor Injury Guideline.
[8] The Adjudicator properly applied the law to the facts of this case and chose an outcome that was within the range of possible acceptable outcomes available to him.
[9] The appeal is dismissed. Counsel have agreed on the amount of costs and accordingly the appellant shall pay costs to the respondent fixed in the amount of $5,000.00 all inclusive.
R.S.J. MORAWETZ
[10] The Appeal Book and Compendium is endorsed as follows: “For oral reasons given, the appeal is dismissed with costs in the agreed upon amount of $5,000.00 inclusive of disbursements and HST.”
___________________________ KITELEY J.
I agree
R.S.J. MORAWETZ
I agree
R.S.J. GORDON
Date of Reasons for Judgment: June 9, 2017
Date of Release: June 19, 2017
CITATION: Liu v. The Co-operators General Insurance Company, 2017 ONSC 3599
DIVISIONAL COURT FILE NO.: 067/17 DATE: 20170609
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
DIVISIONAL COURT
R.S.J. MORAWETZ, R.S.J. GORDON and KITELEY JJ.
BETWEEN:
HUANG LIU
Appellant
– and –
THE CO-OPERATORS GENERAL
INSURANCE COMPANY
Respondent
ORAL REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
KITELEY J.
Date of Reasons for Judgment: June 9, 2017
Date of Release: June 19, 2017