Kusnierz - Combining Impairments in Determining Catastrophic Impairment

Kusnierz v. The Economical Insurance Company (2012) 108 O.R. (3d) 272 (C.A.)

Kusnierz is an important Court of Appeal decision regarding catastrophic impairment under the SABS.

Mr. Kusnierz suffered a below the knee amputation and clinical depression in a 2001 accident. The parties disagreed as to whether he met the criteria to be declared catastrophically impaired, and the trial judge held that he did not. The key issue was whether physical and psychological impairments can be combined in evaluating whether a person is catastrophically impaired under the SABS.

The Court of Appeal held that it is permissible to combine physical and psychological impairments for the following reasons:

1. The legislator did not expressly forbid the combination;
2. The AMA Guides aim to assess the total effects of a person’s impairments on daily activities;
3. The Guides describe a number of situations where physical impairments should take into account mental and behavioural impairments;
4. The combination of impairments is consistent with the purpose of the SABS. The Court noted that the respondent conceded that there are few cases where physical and psychological impairments are catastrophic when combined but not when assessed separately. The class of persons who are CAT will therefore remain small; and
5. Combination promotes fairness and the objectives of the statutory scheme.

Although Kusnierz has the potential to open up the floodgates for catastrophic claims, it may be that the class of cases that fit into this situation remains small, as predicted by the Court of Appeal. It may take time before the full effects of Kusnierz are truly known.

- Tara Pollitt