Articles 2024

In this article, Joanna Strozak and Julie Weller of Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark LLP provide an overview of recent updates to Ontario's workers' compensation legislation and WSIB policy. They examine legislative amendments to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 through Bills 190 and 229, as well as revisions to OPM Document No. 18-02-02, "Determining Short-Term Average Earnings", and other policy-related developments.

In this article, John Bartolomeo of the Workers’ Health and Safety Legal Clinic discusses a recent decision of the WSIAT that offers helpful guidance on advocating for entitlement under the WSIB Chronic Mental Stress Policy when the claim arises from workplace harassment.

The WSIB has updated its Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancer-Asbestos Exposure Policy, effective October 1, 2024. The revised policy establishes three criteria for entitlement for GI cancers related to workplace asbestos exposure and includes general pre-1987 asbestos exposure data for various occupations. This data may streamline entitlement for workers with five or more years of pre-1987 work in listed jobs. Additionally, the policy will apply retroactively to some previously decided cases.

The BC Supreme Court overturned a BC Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal decision that denied a mental disorder claim, finding that the Tribunal unreasonably relied on an expert opinion and, as a result, failed to ensure procedural fairness. This case highlights the risks of relying on expert opinions that may be based on incomplete or inaccurate information and underscores the importance of providing experts with a full and accurate record of factual and medical history.

A recent WSIAT decision upheld an agreement under section 63 of the WSIA, resolving a worker’s appeal about her post-injury real estate income being offset against her LOE benefits. This case illustrates the complexities of concurrent employment, the importance of optional WSIB coverage for self-employment, and offers Schedule 2 employers a cost-effective option for resolving disputes through section 63 agreements.

This article provides a concise summary of recent changes to WSIB policy that clarify the role of corroborating witness evidence in establishing entitlement to traumatic and chronic mental stress.

An overview of Decision No. 463/22R2 which provides a discussion of a worker's coverage under the WSIA when an injury is sustained during serious and wilful misconduct.

This article reviews the reconsideration outcome of WSIAT's Decision No. 243/21R which addressed a Tribunal order to provide loss of earnings benefits to the worker to age 65.

This article contains a review of WSIAT Decision No. 339/23 in which an employer sought cost relief (SIEF) for a worker's compensable fatal motor vehicle accident caused by the worker's impaired driving.

This article provides a summary of the Divisional Court's decision in Grisales v. WSIB, in which the worker sought court review of the WSIB's method of calculating the consumer price index (CPI) for the purposes of the annual indexation of benefits.