The claimant sought a determination that he suffered a catastrophic impairment based on the impairment under the American Spinal Injury Associate (ASIA) Impairment Scale. The claimant’s injuries met the required level of impairment, but the insurer argued that the injury was not yet permanent, which is a requirement under section 3.1(1)1(ii)B of the SABS, because the assessment was less than one year after the accident and improvement could be seen in the initial 18 to 24 month period. Adjudicator Johal held that the claimant satisfied the definition, and that there was no evidence to suggest that the claimant’s level of function would improve to such a degree that would take her outside of the definition. It was noted that the claimant had not experienced any long-term improvements after 13 months, and that the “potential to improve” did not mean that a permanent impairment measurement could not be obtained at present.
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