Overview
In Small v Northbridge General Insurance Company, 2026 ON LAT 21072, the Ontario Licence Appeal Tribunal (“LAT”) held that an insurer cannot justify an additional in-person independent examination (“IE”) simply because a new medical report has been produced by the Applicant. The insurer must demonstrate that the additional IE is reasonably necessary and why other less invasive alternatives would be insufficient.
Facts
The Applicant, Neil Small, was injured in an automobile accident on July 31, 2023, and applied for accident benefits through his insurer. The insurer denied his claim and applied to the LAT to resolve the dispute.
The insurer brought a motion seeking an Order to compel the Applicant to attend the IE. The LAT held that it was not within their jurisdiction to compel the Applicant’s attendance, and that it was too early to address the issue of non-attendance as the IE hadn’t happened yet.
