Canadian Safety Reporter

7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 News | February 2018 | CSR pain, giving an onset date of the day the worker sought medical attention. Though there was a slight de- lay in reporting the injury, the tri- bunal found this was "well within the time limits set out in (WSIB) policy" and reasonable consider- ing the employer wasn't initially aware the injury was tied to work and the worker initially thought it would resolve by taking a week's vacation, before discovering it worsened when she returned to work, not to mention the time it took to for the worker to obtain a doctor's appointment. "The fact that the worker had not yet linked her increas- ing back pain to her duties does not disqualify her claim," the tri- bunal said. "It does support the worker's version of how her back pain arose, and how she came to be aware that it was a result of her workplace duties." The tribunal also found that the worker's workplace duties appeared to be compatible with her injury. The physical tasks of lifting and bending with heavy weights are consistent with the type of lower back injury from which the worker suffered, and adding the doctor's documen- tation of the link confirmed the causal relationship. "Lifting 50-60 pound rolls several times a day from a cage which required (the worker) to bend, and then twist slightly to place said roll on machine, could reasonably be seen to lead to a low back issue," the tribunal said. The tribunal determined that the worker met the five-point checklist for her claim to be al- lowed. Her job was of a "heavy and repetitive nature," she com- plained of increasing back pain at work followed by a week off, and she never returned to lifting the heavy rolls of paper. Prior to the onset of back pain, the work- er was able to perform the heavy physical element of her job, but couldn't afterwards. The worker also received physiotherapy after the onset of pain, which she had not had before. In addition, there was no delay in seeking medical attention, said the tribunal. The tribunal found the worker had entitlement to benefits for a low back strain arising out of and in the course of her duties on a gradual onset basis and over- turned the earlier denials of her claim. The WSIB was instructed to further adjudicate her claim to determine the amount of ben- efits. For more information see: • Decision No. 3492/17, 2017 CarswellOnt 18467 (Ont. Workplace Safety & Appeals Trib.). • Ensuring the worksite is free of uncontrolled hazards • Medically monitoring employees exposed to hazards • Conducting health-risk assessments • Communicating risk nature and severity • Conducting ergonomic assessments and identifying remedial action • Facilitating critical incident stress debriefings post- incident • Assisting with OHS strategic- issues management. Managing the disease state OHNs are educated, skilled, ex- perienced and can be positioned to facilitate the management of employee absenteeism and inju- ry or illness. They liaise with ex- ternal individuals and agencies to advocate for the employee and organization as well as: • Mitigate workplace illness/ injury through timely response and referral for medical treatment • Determine employee fitness to work • Manage injury/illness cases • Co-manage insurer responsibilities and actions • Co-ordinate disability management assistance • Assist employees to return to work in a safe and timely manner • Evaluate service outcomes and determine return on investment • Conduct trend analyses aimed at illness/injury prevention and introduction of suitable loss-control measures. The outcome is assurance that the employee is fit to work, as opposed to being impaired due to illness/injury. Managing the substance-induced state OHNs are qualified to plan and provide employee-centred, goal- oriented care involving: • Assessment (of organization/ employee's needs) • Diagnosis (of human response needs) • Planning (of organization/ employee's care) • Implementation/intervention • Evaluation (of the implemented care). This problem-solving process enables OHNs to determine the degree to which a substance- induced state impairs employee performance. Knowing the physical and cognitive demands of the employee's "own" job, the OHN can determine the degree of dissonance between the work demands and the employee's ca- pability. The OHN can activate corporate policies to eliminate the risk of an impaired employee in the workplace. Secondly, the OHN can assist the employee to obtain appropriate medical and psychological assessment and treatment. The OHN can also determine if the employee is in- deed fit to work following treat- ment. Managing the diminished capacity state OHNs can address worker fa- tigue through: • Management/union education on the negative impacts of sleep deprivation • Employee education on the negative impacts of sleep deprivation • Employee health surveillance and assessment of fitness to work • Early intervention, referral and treatment OHNs are also well-versed on the health impacts of shiftwork and can help protect employees and organizations from the neg- ative health effects of it. An aging workforce is a new phenomenon. To effectively manage the related-health ef- fects of impairment, OHNs can intervene by providing: • Management/union education on aging and how to counteract the related impacts • Employee education on aging and how to protect against the related body changes • Employee health surveillance and assessment of the older employee's fitness to work • Early intervention, referral and treatment Employee impairment can be addressed regardless of cause. By promoting workplace health and safety and mitigating health loss- es, OHNs can contribute to or- ganizational business strategies and profits while reducing legal and safety risks in the workplace. Dianne E. Dyck is an occupa- tional health nurse and OHS specialist with Progressive Health & Safety Consulting in Calgary. She can be reached at (403) 282- 9330 or degdyck2@gmail.com. OHNs can facilitate the management of absenteeism Reducing < pg. 3 e worker's workplace duties appeared to be compatible with her injury. Worker wins < pg. 6 Worker unable to continue lifting heavy rolls

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