The claimant was involved in a motor vehicle accident in April 2013, in which he allegedly sustained injuries to his back and shoulder, as well as psychological impairments. The claimant was incarcerated 13 days later, and was in and out of provincial institutions over the next four years. The claimant also struggled with drug addiction and mental illness. The claimant was released from prison in November 2017, but did not apply for accident benefits until August 2019, six and half years after the accident. The insurer denied the claimant’s claim on the basis that he failed to apply for accident benefits within the time limits prescribed under the SABS, and that he had not provided a reasonable explanation for the delay. Adjudicator Boyce concluded that the claimant met his onus to present a reasonable explanation for the delay, accepting that his transient circumstances, significant mental illness, and periods of incarceration followed by periods of homelessness, would have resulted in a genuine inability to issue a benefits claim in the years following the accident. He further noted that the hardship to the claimant, if he were prevented from proceeding to a substantive hearing, would be far greater than any prejudice faced by the delay in receiving notice on the insurer’s end.
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