Meeting The Definition Of 'Accident' As Defined In The SABS

The recent appeal decision of Director's Delegate Evans in Salamone and Aviva (Appeal Order P15-00072, June 16, 2016) considered whether or not a heart attack, while driving, which resulted in a car accident and injuries, qualified as an "accident" for the purposes of claiming accident benefits under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule.

On February 2, 2013, while driving his van, Mr. Salamone had a heart attack and lost consciousness. The van he was in hit one guardrail and slid along it until it hit a second guardrail, causing the van to leave the road and angle over a ditch. The damage to the van prevented a CPR-trained bystander from immediately treating Mr. Salamone. Thereafter, Mr. Salamone claimed that the delayed treatment caused severe neurological impairments.

A Preliminary Issue Hearing was held in front of Arbitrator Arbus to determine whether the Claimant was involved in an accident as defined by Section 3(1) of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule ("SABS"):

3. (1) In this Regulation, "accident" means an incident in which the use or operation of an automobile directly causes an impairment or directly causes damage to any prescription eyewear, denture, hearing aid, prosthesis or other medical or dental device.

At first instance, Arbitrator Arbus found that the incident failed to meet the definition of...