The claimant sought entitlement to IRBs from June 25, 2018 to March 2, 2019. Vice Chair Mather first heard a preliminary issue with respect to the Tribunal’s font and spacing specifications. Vice Chair Mather stated that it is open to a party to request an increase in page limits if they do not feel that they can properly make their case within the specified page limit. Second, Vice Mathers heard a preliminary issue with respect to the claimant submitting new evidence in their reply submissions. Vice Chair Mathers allowed the evidence to be heard because there was no prejudice to the insurer in doing so and the claimant met the deadline for exchanging documents. With respect to the claimant’s entitlement to IRBs, Vice Chair Mathers was not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the claimant suffered a substantial inability to perform the essential tasks of his self-employment as a contractor. Vice Chair Mathers was not persuaded that the claimant met the test for IRBs because of the inconsistencies in his evidence, which affected his credibility. There were multiple contradictory reports with respect to whether or not the claimant had returned to work. Further, the claimant misled the reporting doctors by failing to mention his previous injuries.
