Renée Vinett

The Applicant sought a determination that she sustained a catastrophic impairment following a motor vehicle accident, claiming her accident-related injuries necessitated cervical spinal fusion surgery.

The Respondent denied the claim, arguing the surgery resulted from pre-existing degenerative spinal conditions.

The Tribunal found that the Applicant's physical and psychological impairments combined to a 41% whole person impairment, falling short of the 55% threshold required for catastrophic impairment.

The Tribunal concluded that the Applicant's need for surgery was caused by the natural progression of her pre-existing congenital degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis, and that an intervening chiropractic manipulation broke any chain of causation with the accident.

The claims for attendant care benefits and interest were consequently dismissed.

The appellant insurer appealed an order requiring it to produce its underwriting file for discovery in an insurance coverage dispute.

The Divisional Court found that while the motion judge applied the wrong test ('could be relevant' instead of 'semblance of relevance'), the result was correct.

Given the unusual circumstances involving allegations of knowledge possessed by the insured and insurer at the time the policy was issued, the entire underwriting file had a semblance of relevance and was properly ordered produced.

The appeal was dismissed.