The Public Utilities Board is urging the province to appoint independent brain injury experts to work with Manitoba Public Insurance following allegations the Crown corporation is failing to deal fairly with claims related to head trauma.
A Jan. 7 order from the quasi-judicial board directed MPI to raise auto insurance rates but also recommended it appoint an “independent external expert who is a doctor and research clinician practising at a recognized institute that focuses on brain injuries.”
During three weeks of hearings following MPI’s application to increase insurance rates by three per cent in the fall, several witnesses spoke to the issue of how the Crown insurer handles personal injury claims.
JESSE BOILY / FREE PRESS FILES
MPI is being urged to improve the way the insurer deals with claimants who suffer brain injuries in car accidents.
While the system includes examinations by medical professionals and an independent arbitration process, it is “slanted in a manner that makes it virtually impossible for them to receive the treatment and compensation to which they are entitled,” the PUB board wrote in its decision.
“The board is troubled by the information it received … the board questions whether the existing process could be improved to provide better support for injured customers and long-term savings to the system,” the decision read.
Brain injury advocate Michael McKernan called MPI’s approach to brain injuries inadequate.
The retired environmental scientist helped a former client after a brain injury six years ago.
“I ended up learning a lot about traumatic brain injuries that I never expected to, and then I ended up realizing it was a systemic issue,” McKernan said Wednesday.
Barry Waito, who McKernan advocates for, experienced a traumatic brain injury as a result of a vehicle collision in 2017. Waito told the PUB during his testimony that MPI should have given him a list of steps to take immediately after the collision and MPI should have contacted him immediately to inform him of the likelihood of a brain injury and that he be assessed by a doctor quickly.
When a personal injury claim is opened through MPI, the public insurer looks to the claimant’s treating doctor to help determine the appropriate coverage required to support patient care, MPI spokesperson Tara Seel said.
MPI employs a team of case managers who work with medical practitioners to determine if a claimant’s diagnosis is related to the accident and also to review ongoing care, rehabilitation and support plans.
McKernan says MPI doesn’t take head trauma claims seriously enough.
“(MPI) systemically discredits (claimants) or undervalues them, or causes them to receive insufficient support for the MPI mandate to rehabilitate them.”
Based on the type and severity of the head trauma, under its personal injury protection plan, MPI will compensate claimants for various circumstances including income replacement, personal care, home and vehicle retrofits.
When deciding on benefits, MPI assesses a claimant’s medical information and reviews files with health-care service staff before making a decision.
“If people are paying into insurance, it should support that and their needs over the long term.”–Michelle McDonald, Brain Injury Canada
During the 2023-24 fiscal year, MPI handled 233 claims with brain injuries reported as a primary or secondary injury.
Seel said claimants who disagree with decisions about benefit entitlement can file an appeal.
Michelle McDonald, CEO of Brain Injury Canada, said the issue Manitoba is seeing is present across the country and welcomes the idea of an independent body.
“If people are paying into insurance, it should support that and their needs over the long term,” she said. “People pay into this and they deserve to be compensated for how they need versus what they are eligible for.”
McDonald said claimants often face barriers in being told what they need instead of getting to speak for themselves, and will often give up or rely on overburdened systems like Legal Aid to fight for them.
“Insurance can be a pretty intimidating process, so with someone who has a new cognitive disability and is having a challenge navigating the health-care system, this can be an insurmountable barrier,” she said.
Matt Wiebe, minister in charge of MPI, said in a statement the province is still looking through the PUB’s report and is “taking the recommendations seriously.”
Seel declined to comment on the board’s recommendation, saying it was a matter of government legislation and out of MPI’s hands.
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca
Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer
Nicole Buffie is a multimedia producer who reports for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom in 2023. Read more about Nicole.
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