Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT) has ruled that a former meat department manager is entitled to psychotraumatic disability benefits, loss-of-earnings (LOE) benefits, and a work transition assessment after determining that his termination was significantly related to his compensable injury and its sequelae.
Vice-Chair M. McLoughlin found that the worker, identified as T.H., suffered a compensable right shoulder injury while lifting a heavy box of meat at work on June 22, 2013. The injury, diagnosed as a bicipital tendon tear, was later deemed a permanent impairment, and T.H. was awarded a 3 per cent Non-Economic Loss (NEL) benefit.
Despite returning to work, T.H. began experiencing significant anxiety and panic attacks attributed to his injury and its impact on his job performance. “He had always relied on his physical abilities, and that was taken from him by reason of the injury,” the decision noted. T.H. took two medical leaves due to his psychological condition, supported by his physician, Dr. L.L.
Termination from employment
On April 10, 2014, T.H. was terminated from his employment. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) denied his claims for LOE benefits post-termination and for psychotraumatic disability, concluding that his loss of employment and resulting loss of earnings were not related to his compensable injury.
T.H. appealed the WSIB’s decisions to the WSIAT, which considered three issues: entitlement to psychotraumatic disability, entitlement to LOE benefits from April 10, 2014, and entitlement to work transition services.
The Tribunal’s analysis focused on whether T.H.’s psychological condition was significantly connected to his compensable injury and whether his termination was related to his injury. The Tribunal found that T.H.’s compensable injury was a significant contributing factor to the development of his psychotraumatic disability, specifically his anxiety disorder.
While acknowledging that T.H. had a pre-existing anxiety condition, the Tribunal noted that it had largely resolved before the workplace injury. “I accept that while the worker had some symptoms of anxiety between 2007 and 2013, they were not so severe as to cause the worker to seek medical treatment or miss time from work during that period,” Vice-Chair McLoughlin wrote.
The Tribunal applied Board policy OPM Document No. 15-04-02 regarding psychotraumatic disability, which allows entitlement when an emotional reaction to a workplace injury significantly contributes to a psychological condition. The decision highlighted that the temporal link between the injury and the emergence of T.H.’s anxiety was compelling evidence of causation.
Regarding the termination, the Tribunal concluded that T.H.’s compensable injury and its sequelae were significant factors leading to his firing. “It is more likely than not that the worker’s compensable injury, and its sequelae, were significant factors which led to his firing,” the decision stated. The Tribunal emphasized that T.H. had no prior performance or disciplinary issues before his injury and that his performance declined due to injury-related limitations and associated anxiety.
The Tribunal found that the termination of employment and resulting wage loss were, at least in significant part, as a result of the compensable injuries. Consequently, T.H. is entitled to LOE benefits from April 10, 2014.
Mitigation
T.H.’s attempts to mitigate his losses were also considered. After his termination, he sought employment in his field but was unsuccessful due to ongoing pain and anxiety. He worked in various meat cutter positions but ultimately could not sustain the employment because of his injury. The Tribunal recognized that T.H.’s efforts to secure suitable employment were reasonable given his education and experience.
The Tribunal granted T.H. full LOE benefits from April 10, 2014, through August 31, 2016, less earnings from other employment during that period. From September 1, 2016, to the date he secured new employment in 2022, T.H. is entitled to partial LOE benefits calculated based on his capacity to earn minimum wage on a full-time basis. The reduction reflects that T.H. withdrew from the workforce during this period due to personal circumstances, including his wife’s illness and passing.
Work transition assessment
Additionally, the Tribunal granted T.H. entitlement to a work transition assessment. The decision noted that the circumstances warranted such an assessment to determine a suitable occupation aligned with his skills and physical abilities.
The Tribunal acknowledged T.H.’s efforts to improve his employability by obtaining his AZ truck driver’s licence and securing employment as a truck driver.
For more information, see Decision No. 649/24, 2024 ONWSIAT 1299 (CanLII).
