The Year of the LAT
Starting April 1, 2016, the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) took over hearing Statutory Accident Benefits disputes. The first LAT decision was released online in July 2016. In a previous post, I examined the first 20 LAT decisions.
We’ve now had a year’s worth of LAT decisions (the first LAT decision was released online in July 2016). This post will examine the LAT decisions published online on CanLII to date (or at least up until June 22, 2017).
There are now 130 LAT decisions on CanLII. From the decisions, the following “statistics” emerge:
The Minor Injury Guideline remains a popular issue, accounting for about one-fifth of the decisions. Insurers have won 82% of MIG decisions (21 of 25).
There have only been two Catastrophic decisions: 1 decision on Glasgow Coma Scale (an insured win) and another on Whole Person Impairment (an insurer win).
The majority of hearings are still being held in writing only (73% or 95/130). Only 11% of decisions come from in-person hearings. Of the 14 in-person hearings, 10 were 1 day hearings and 4 were 2 day hearings.
From hearing to decision takes an average of 74 days. The longest time period between hearing and decision was 225 days (on CAT WPI).
The average page length of decisions is 7 pages. Most decisions are 10 pages or less. The longest decision is 21 pages (on CAT WPI).
In each decision, there is an average of 1 case cited. Many decisions cite zero cases. The high is 13.
Costs are still almost unicorn rare. Costs were awarded to the insured and then overturned on reconsideration in 2 decisions (see my previous post). And, recently costs were awarded to the insurer for the first time in M.O. and Unifund. That costs award was $500.
There have been 9 reconsideration decisions. 3 reconsiderations were granted. Insurers have won every reconsideration other than the successful reconsideration of a denied consent adjournment in P.P. and Intact.
The most common insurer at the LAT is Aviva by a wide margin. Aviva accounts for 28 of 130 LAT decisions (21.5%). Aviva more than doubles second-place Wawanesa (12 decisions).
Certain Adjudicators continue to be quite prolific in decision writing. Adjudicator Sewrattan has 19 decisions on CanLII, followed by Adjudicator Treksler with 11 and Adjudicator Pay with 10.
If you’d like a spreadsheet tracking/summarizing (very briefly!) each LAT decision to date, email me at duncan@tbayinjurylaw.com or message me on Twitter @tbayinjurylaw .
For updates on these trends, as well as a number of takeaway points and strategies, members should sign up for the OTLA Fall Conference November 16 and 17, 2017, where I’ll be presenting on the LAT.