The claimant had initially sought a special award related to denial of NEBs. At a teleconference hearing an adjuster for the insurer gave testimony regarding the denial of benefits. At the conclusion of the hearing, the claimant requested that costs be added as an issue in dispute. Adjudicator Hines granted the request and the parties filed submissions. The claimant alleged that the insurer had unreasonably attempted to raise a preliminary issue to bar her from claiming NEBs based on s.44 non-compliance, when the insurer had not given proper notice when arranging the IE, and had also failed to comply with a production order. The claimant alleged that this behaviour resulted in a delay and prevented a fair hearing and sought costs in the amount of $12,500.00. Adjudicator Hines ruled that the insurer was not acting unreasonably by arguing s.44 non-compliance, but did act unreasonably and was in breach of the LAT order for failing to disclose all of the workflow correspondence between the insurer and the IE facility. During the hearing, claimant’s counsel noted that several pages were missing from the documents, which delayed the hearing as further review had to be undertaken. Adjudicator Hines rules that the insurer’s failure to comply with the production order constituted a blatant disrespect of the Tribunal’s process, and that the claimant had a right to transparency in understanding the adjusting of her claim and denial of benefits. As the delay caused an additional day to be added to the scheduled hearing, Adjudicator Hines awarded the claimant $500.00 in costs.
