This preliminary issue hearing was brought to determine whether the claimant was barred from seeking a determination that the injuries sustained in the accident were not subject to the MIG, as that issue had already been determined by the FSCO. Adjudicator Watt found that the claimant was barred from seeking a determination that her injuries fell outside the MIG, as there was no reason why the fresh evidence raised by the claimant at the hearing was not available to the Arbitrator at the FSCO hearing. Further, the “new evidence” mirrored the same complaints at the time of the FSCO hearing and did not conclusively impeach the original results. Adjudicator Watt found that res judicata applied to the current hearing and therefore the claimant could not proceed.
