Canadian Safety Reporter

3 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2017 News | December 2017 | CSR Worker denied, then wins ongoing benefits for back impairment Medical opinions pointed to workplace accident as cause of compression fractures – except for WSIB's medical consultant BY JEFFREY R. SMITH THE ONTARIO Workers' Com- pensation and Appeals Tribunal has overturned the denial of im- pairment and loss-of-earnings benefits for a worker who was diagnosed with compression fractures in his back after jarring it while driving a truck. The 60-year-old worker was a truck driver in Ontario. He oc- casionally experienced twinges of pain in his back, but nothing he felt was serious and over-the- counter pain medication usually took care of the problem. In May 2014, the worker drove his truck over a sharp dip in the road, causing the truck to bounce. The air seat he was sitting in didn't work properly, causing the worker to jolt up- ward abruptly, hitting his head on the truck cab's ceiling. He then was jolted down to the bottom of the seat's range. The worker immediately felt a sharp pain in his lower back and, after a few days where he couldn't drive because of the pain, he sought treatment. The worker's family doctor reported that the worker had a contusion to the back with a pos- sible disc herniation from the accident and referred the worker for additional assessment. Another doctor diagnosed the worker with "sprain/strain/ disc pattern directional prefer- ence" from which the worker should be able to recover within 28 days with physiotherapy and pain medication. Three weeks later, on July 30, the worker saw a physiotherapist who diagnosed a disc herniation that presented symptoms of inflammation and a reduced range of motion. The physiotherapist reported the worker was not able to bend, twist, climb, lift, kneel, operate heavy equipment, push, pull, sit, or stand, and should stay off work for at least another four weeks. An Aug. 10 MRI revealed compression fractures of two vertebrae. WSIB declared injury resolved The worker was initially granted entitlement to workers' com- pensation benefits for a low back strain, consisting of loss of earn- ings benefits. On July 14, 2014, the worker's case manager from the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) de- termined the worker's employer had suitable work available for him and discontinued his ben- efits — the employer had offered the worker a security guard po- sition at a location more than 100 kilometres from his home, but the worker declined. About three weeks later, on Aug. 5, the case manager found the worker's low back strain had resolved and he was able to perform is regu- lar duties. As a result, all work- ers' compensation benefits were stopped as of that date. The WSIB medical consul- tant provided his opinion that "the force of the spinal impact does not seem sufficient to cause compression fractures" and "there was no evidence of de- creased bone density or quality." However, the worker claimed two of his vertebrae were frac- tured in the accident and he should be entitled to ongoing en- titlement for the back injury and full loss-of-earnings benefits. An appeals resolution officer denied his claim and the worker appealed to the tribunal. The worker also claimed that he con- tinued to experience back pain and limited motion, rendering him unemployable because of his ongoing impairment. On Aug. 26, 2014, the worker was diagnosed with osteoporo- sis that, in the presence of a prior fracture, would increase to se- vere osteoporosis. The court found that since the worker experienced signifi- cant pain immediately after the incident and continued to have MRIs > pg. 7 Credit: Shutterstock/Creativa Images

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