O.M. v. Aviva Insurance Company of Canada (18-001929)

The claimant applied for accident benefits after suffering injury on a city bus. The insurer denied that he was entitled to accident benefits because there was no collision; rather, the claimant fell when the bus driver accelerated. The claimant suffered from various disabilities prior to the accident and sought a seat in the priority seating area. However, the bus was not a bus specially designed for persons with disabilities. Adjudicators Norris and Letourneau dismissed the claim and held that the claimant was not entitled to receive accident benefits. They held that the fact that the claimant wished to use priority seating on the city bus did not make the bus “special transportation for persons with disabilities.” Furthermore, the availability of priority seating was not a special service provided for persons with disabilities.