The claimant was involved in a serious accident and had sustained ongoing physical, psychological, and cognitive impairments. He had returned to doing some work on a part-time basis, but was unable to engage in full time work or retraining. Adjudicator Truong held that the claimant was entitled to post 104-week IRBs based on a holistic analysis of the claimant’s post-accident abilities and impairments. It was also noted that the claimant had been approved for CPP Disability Benefits. In terms of the catastrophic impairment, Adjudicator Truong determined that the claimant suffered a combined 56 percent whole person impairment, which qualified as a catastrophic impairment. The difference of opinion between the parties had been based on whether it was appropriate to combine the impairment rating for mental status impairment rating under Chapter 4 of the AMA Guides with the mental and behavioural impairment rating from Chapter 14 of the AMA Guides, or whether doing so amounted to “overcounting”. Adjudicator Truong held that it was appropriate to combine the ratings from both Chapters 4 and 14 in this case, because the claimant had suffered a cerebral impairment (which was counted under Chapter 4), and a psychological impairment (which was counted under Chapter 14). In terms of the medical benefits claimed, Adjudicator Truong held that the claimant had not submitted sufficient evidence to prove that the claims were reasonable and necessary.
