Canadian Safety Reporter

7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 News | April 2018 | CSR Suitable accommodation not so suitable for injured worker Worker's injured foot worsened during job retraining and required more surgery, increasing his medical restrictions BY JEFFREY R. SMITH AN ONTARIO worker who seri- ously injured his foot and was unable to return to his pre-injury job was assigned an unreason- able suitable occupation for retraining leading to an incor- rect earning ability calculation and benefits level, the Ontario Workplace Safety and Appeals Tribunal has ruled. The 57-year-old worker was a fitter welder for an industrial company. On July 31, 2007, the worker stepped into an open hole in the plant floor and frac- tured three metatarsal bones in his left foot. Three weeks later he underwent surgery, followed by three more operations in Octo- ber 2007, November 2008, and September 2009. The Ontario Workplace Safe- ty and Insurance Board (WSIB) approved entitlement for loss- of-earnings benefits for the time the worker was off work and a five per cent non-economic loss benefit for a permanent impair- ment in the foot. The worker was unable to return to his pre-accident job, which involved a lot of time spent on his feet, because he had restrictions on walking on uneven ground and limiting his overall walking and standing. As a result, the WSIB referred him to labour market re-entry (LMR) services. Following an assessment, the LMR services determined the occupation of water and waste plant opera- tor as a suitable employment or business (SEB) goal to work to- wards. The LMR plan supported the worker taking a certificate program at a community college and another certificate from the Walkerton Clean Water Centre. Completed retraining The worker completed his LMR program and all required train- ing for the position of water and waste plant operator — includ- ing an unpaid work placement — on Sept. 23, 2011. However, despite various job searches, he wasn't able to find work in his SEB. He took a security guard course and worked briefly as a security guard, but was unable to continue due to the amount of time the job required to be spent on his feet. In April 2012, the worker tried to return to work as a fitter welder, but he had to stop after just four days. Though the worker was un- able to find a job in his SEB, the WSIB determined he was able to earn the wage level associated with that type of employment — which the board determined was $19 per hour and the same as that he had been earning as a fitter welder before he injured his foot. As a result of this calcu- lation, the worker would receive no further loss-of-earnings ben- efits once he found work. While he was in the LMR pro- gram, the worker's foot had dete- riorated and he ended up having surgery on June 14, 2012, that involved the amputation and resection of his fifth metatarsal bone, a tendon lengthening, and other procedures. The WSIB granted a redetermination of his non-economic loss benefits, but upon assessment the award remained at five per cent. An ap- peals resolution officer from the WSIB also awarded the worker loss-of-earnings benefits for two months after the surgery, to Aug. 21. The worker found a job with a cable company call centre in No- vember 2012, but quit in March 2013 as he felt it didn't suit him or his abilities. The then found a job as a Commissionaire secu- e worker wasn't able to find work in his SEB. He tried to return to his old job, but had to stop after just 4 days. Credit: Shutterstock/keki Medical restrictions > pg. 9

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