A preliminary issue hearing was held to determine whether the claimant was involved in an accident as defined in s. 3(1) of the SABS. The claimant submitted that he was riding on the back of an ATV down a laneway on the way to his home when he fell off the back and suffered a catastrophic brain injury. The insurer’s main argument was that the claimant and witnesses were not credible, and that the claimant was not in fact injured while on an ATV. The decision largely turned on the believability of the witnesses. Adjudicator Maleki-Yazdi accepted that an ATV was involved in the incident, the claimant’s injuries were a direct result of a fall off the ATV, and the claimant was therefore involved in an “accident” as defined in s. 3(1) of the SABS.
