Keyword
Licence Appeal Tribunal
Why AB claim doesn’t clear minor injury guideline hurdle
August 15, 2023 Philip PoradoAn applicant who failed to demonstrate her injuries weren’t minor cannot receive benefits beyond the minor injury guideline (MIG), an adjudicator determined in an Aug. 14 Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) decision (Reid v. Aviva General Insurance, 2023 ONLAT 20-015102/AABS – A). The MIG…
Is spilling coffee on yourself at a drive-thru an auto ‘accident’?
July 10, 2023 by Jason ContantOntario’s Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) has ruled in favour of Co-operators in an accident benefits case after finding a driver’s use and operation of his vehicle did not directly cause his injuries and thus did not meet the definition of…
What Licence Appeal Tribunal changes mean for insurers
October 25, 2022 by Alyssa DiSabatinoRecent changes to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) process are intended to clear the tribunal’s own backlog, but they have complicated the Automobile Accident Benefits Service (AABS) process, which has in turn created “unfair” costs for insurers, says an prominent…
Claimant loses appeal over whether Ontario court can hear bad-faith claim
July 24, 2019 by Greg MeckbachWhen the Ontario government moved accident benefits dispute resolution to the Licence Appeal Tribunal in 2016, it did not intend for two similar issues in a disputed claim to be adjudicated both in court and before the LAT, the Court…
Insurance lawyer questions whether LAT has ‘appearance’ of fairness
June 26, 2018 by Greg MeckbachAn anonymous letter about how an auto injury claim was handled by the Ontario License Appeal Tribunal raises “concerns” about the LAT decision-making process, an insurance lawyer warns. Anonymous evidence should generally not be given any weight in court proceedings,…
Court ruling calls independence of auto claims dispute arbitrators into question
June 22, 2018 by Greg MeckbachThe Ontario Licence Appeal Tribunal’s first ruling on whether an auto accident claimant is catastrophically impaired has been quashed by a three-judge Divisional Court panel. The decision-making process at LAT “creates a reasonable apprehension of lack of independence” on the…
Minor Arguments
June 7, 2017 Kadey B.J. Schultz, Co-Managing Partner, Schultz Frost LLPIn hearing disputes over whether or not a claimant’s injuries fall within Ontario’s Minor Injury Guideline, arbitrators with the Licence Appeal Tribunal tend to place greater weight on objective medical evidence and tend to be critical of subjective complaints referred to by medical practitioners.
Quick Resolution
June 1, 2017 May Gibillini, President, InHEALTH Inc.The Licence Appeal Tribunal has been hearing disputed Ontario accident benefits claims for more than a year. Although disputes seem to be resolved more quickly than they were by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, it remains to be seen whether or not claimants are getting access to benefits in a more timely manner.
Ontario Chamber of Commerce endorses major changes to auto insurance rate regulation
May 9, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterThe Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) is calling on the provincial government to put an end to its existing auto rate filing system, a system the chamber describes as “one of the most costly, onerous, and restrictive in North America.”…
New Ontario financial authority should monitor auto insurers with ‘unusual number’ of LAT appeals: Marshall
April 12, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterNeither the behaviour of personal injury lawyers nor “excess profits” of insurers are to blame for high auto premiums in Ontario, but the government should consider restricting lawyers’ contingency fees, a special advisor to the provincial government suggested in a…
Requirement to cover auto accident benefits is “policy-specific” in Ontario: Court
November 8, 2016 by Canadian UnderwriterIn a case arising from an injury on an all-terrain vehicle, an Ontario court recently ruled on the interrelationship between the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS) and the system of determining priority disputes, between auto insurers, under the province’s Insurance…
Court challenge to Ontario auto dispute resolution system ‘scheduled to proceed’ to hearing Feb. 13
November 4, 2016 Greg Meckbach, Associate EditorA constitutional challenge to Ontario’s auto accident benefits dispute resolution system is scheduled for a three-day hearing next February, but the retired judge who recommended that AB disputes go before a public sector administrative tribunal suggested Wednesday that it would…