The claimant was involved in an assault by a motorcyclist and applied for accident benefits as a result. The insurer argued that the claimant had not been involved in an accident as denied by s. 3(1) of the SABS. The Tribunal agreed. Vice Chair Boyce highlighted that unless the vehicle itself is associated with a specific impairment, assaults are not considered accidents under the SABS. The assault was found by the Tribunal to have broken the chain of events, and that even where the use of a vehicle is the catalyst to a subsequent assault causing injury, it is not enough to show that the vehicle was merely in the vicinity. The use or operation of the vehicle must have directly caused the injury for an incident to constitute an accident.
