Worker Compensation W.S.I.B.

Len Hircsu
Worker Compensation W.S.I.B.

Workers Compensation Report 

Local 199 has several reps that can assist our members with new or existing compensation claims and compensation appeals. If you need assistance the primary contact is Len Hircsu at 905-682-2611 Ext. 232

If you are injured or become sick because of your job  at work it is very important that you seek medical attention and report the injury right away to your supervisor. You should also inform your Union rep and contact Len Hircsu for assistance. You need to keep all documentation, records of lost time, doctor’s visits, prescriptions and treatments. This will assist us ensure your WSIB claim is processed in a timely manor and you receive the appropriate compensation.

Contact Information

Len Hircsu
Phone  905-682-2611 x 232

When You are Injured at Work

A worker who is injured at work or becomes sick because of his/her job should:

  1. Seek Medical Attention, report to medical  for first aid immediately or see a doctor if needed, make it very clear the injury is work related
  2. Tell your supervisor about the accident or illness as soon as possible
  3. Inform your Union, a claim should be started
  4. Identify reliable witnesses, if any, and tell reliable co-workers how you were injured.
  5. Call the Union Hall at (905) 682-2611 to get immediate assistance with filing a WSIB claim.

Links

The WSIB website has lots of good information for injured workers about the process the link follows.

WSIB Website

See your Doctor

If you are injured at work the WSIB expects you to provide and show them medical evidence to support your absence from work. If you do not they will deny your claim for loss of earnings benefits.  If you cannot get an appointment with your own doctor there are other options available to support a claim for loss of earnings benefits. One option is to go to a walk-in clinic this is not as good as seeing your own doctor but it will give you documentation that not only are you injured the nature of your injuries and the doctor at the clinic may be able to help you.  Depending on the nature of the injury a  second option is to go to a chiropractor. Appointments with chiropractors can usually be obtained quickly and on very short notice. A third,   option is to go to a hospital emergency ward. For minor injuries this is probably not a good idea, however if the injury is serious this might be required.  Incidentally your employer is required to provide transportation to the hospital if it s required.

File a Report

WSIB claims should be filed for all workplace injuries. This includes injuries that do not immediately result in lost time from work. Injuries not resulting in lost time can be much more serious than they seem at first and can result in losing time at a later date. When you file a successful WSIB claim for a no lost time injury the WSIB will pay for health care benefits for treating the injury. If you miss time later on (for surgery) you can then collect WSIB loss of earnings benefits instead of S&A benefits. But if you did not file a claim promptly for being injured you are likely to both encounter more difficulty getting your claim allowed and receiving the benefits you should get. Timing is critical. The longer you wait to file your claim the easier it is for the boss to dispute your claim and the more likely the WSIB is to deny it making an appeal necessary. There are other good reasons to file WSIB claims for no lost time injuries. WSIB claims for no lost time injuries are as important as claims involving lost time insofar as both document workplace injuries and are a compelling measure of just how unsafe a workplace is. So when workers are injured but do not file WSIB claims the truth about how unsafe a workplace is gets concealed. The employer is not made financially accountable and will have less incentive to correct the problems causing the injuries the claims were filed for. These things show why the belief that you only file a WSIB claim if your injury results in lost time from work is totally wrong. This dangerous belief has resulted in many workers being denied WSIB benefits they have every right to. This dangerous belief also has the effect of hiding the extent of workplace injuries and, in doing so, made workplaces more unsafe and increased the risk of injury for everyone employed in them.

Don’t Take Vacation

When you are injured on the job and your injuries force you to take time off work, supervision may offer to cover the lost time by asking if you want to take vacation time.  If this happens decline the offer and report it to us.  Vacation time & PAAs are your vacation days any time you lose from work because of a workplace injury or sickness should be compensated by the  Workplace Safety & Insurance Board and  loss of earnings benefits should not covered by your vacation time.  If you use vacation entitlement you are helping to conceal the fact that an injury at work forced you to lose time and are helping your employer conceal an unsafe condition or work practice that caused your injury. If you take vacation time you are also helping the boss to get rebates on premiums paid to the WSIB by helping to lower the number of lost time claims the boss is responsible for and reducing your vacation time which you should enjoy when you are healthy and not injured.

When you are injured at work Management is legally obligated to offer you medically suitable work. This obligation has become a way for Management to simply get you back to work and off  WSIB benefits no matter what your medical condition is and physical capabilities are.  This only benefits your employer, they pay lower WSIB premiums if they keep you off benefits,  your medical condition is a secondary concern to them.    Any modified job offered to you after an injury must be safe for you to perform. This means it will not put you at risk of further injury or impede your recovery. Accordingly, you and your treating physician have an absolute right to see a specific, detailed job description so your doctor can decide whether the work offered to you is safe for you to do and within your physical capabilities. Indeed, contrary to what many supervisors think, WSIB policy expects your employer to understand what your capabilities are. You have a right to inform them of this and insist that your doctor make what is entirely a medical decision. Think about it. Does your supervisor have a medical degree?

Do not be intimidated

You do have a duty to cooperate in return to work efforts. You also have a right to assert legitimate concerns about the medical suitability of the work being offered to you. Exercising that right does NOT constitute non-cooperation. Doing this is no different than exercising your legal right to refuse unsafe work. One other thing must be made very clear. Medically suitable work also means work that is meaningful and value added. Sitting at a desk all day waiting for a phone to ring is not meaningful, suitable work. Neither is staring at the walls of a cafeteria or lunchroom. Management is required to make a serious effort to offer you work that achieves outcomes and to not simply call you at home to say they have something for you to do.

Documentation

We cant stress how important it is to keep track of your injury, when it happened, what the contributing factors were, when you reported it to your employer, any co workers who can be called on to be witnesses, when you went to see your doctor, keep a detailed log of dates times and all occurrences.   The more information you have the better off you will be when making a WSIB claim. Doing these things will spare you the grief, aggravation and anger that comes with continuing to endure a work related injury only to have the WSIB deny that there is a problem. Both the employer and  WSIB will do this if it can cite a lack of evidence of a continuing problem. If there are gaps in documented treatment of complaint the WSIB will assume your problem has been resolved. The WSIB will also assume any subsequent reporting of a problem involves a new injury that is not necessarily work related.

Priority

Our overriding priority is to help you overcome your injuries, make sure you return to good health, are compensated for lost income and to hold the employer accountable to maintain a safe workplace free from hazords and injury for all workers, but we need your ongoing support and help to do so.



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