Canadian Safety Reporter

3 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 News | July 2018 | CSR Back pain doesn't get better; worker entitled to benefits for recurrence of injury Worker's ongoing symptoms worsened in new job but there was no new significant workplace accident to aggravate them BY JEFFREY R. SMITH AN ONTARIO worker has suc- cessfully won his appeal for en- titlement to workers' compensa- tion benefits after he was able to show his low back and leg pain that forced him off work were a recurrence of an earlier work- place injury. The 34-year-old worker was employed as a welder in Ontario. In January 2012, he was carrying a heavy welding bottle — a con- tainer holding gas to use with a welding torch weighing about 75 to 80 pounds — up a flight of stairs. He held the welding bottle on his left shoulder and held the railing with his right hand as he ascended. At one point, the worker slipped, causing him to twist backwards and miss the step behind him. He fell hard on the stairs, knocking the wind out of him. He immediately felt a sharp pain in his lower back that radiated down his left leg. The next day, the worker couldn't get out of bed because of the pain, so he visited his lo- cal emergency department. He was diagnosed with left sciatica and sent home. A few days later, he visited his family doctor, who ordered an x-ray. After the x-ray came back normal, the doctor diagnosed the worker with a back strain. He prescribed rest, physiotherapy, pain medication, and muscle relaxants. The worker applied for and was granted workers' compen- sation benefits for a low back strain. The employer wasn't able to provide modified duties while the worker was recovering from his injury, so the Ontario Work- place Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) also granted the worker loss-of-earnings benefits. The worker returned to work on April 2, 2012, a little over two months after his injury. How- ever, he was still limited by his injury — though it had improved with physiotherapy — and he was unable to perform the full scale of his pre-injury job duties. He continued with an exercise routine that was designed to al- leviate stiffness and pain, but continued to take pain medica- tion. He reported that he was "doing fine" and was on his way to a full recovery, so the WSIB closed his file. The worker resigned his em- ployment with the accident em- ployer in November 2012 and began working for a new em- ployer in January 2013 in a posi- tion with light maintenance du- ties. However, the job involved frequent lifting, hoisting, bend- ing, and kneeling, and soon his low back pain increased and the pain radiating down his left leg returned. Symptoms worsened The worker soon found it dif- ficult to walk, go up and down stairs, get dressed, sit for periods of time, or perform tasks such as mowing the lawn and loading the dishwasher, so he sought medi- cal attention. An MRI in August 2013 revealed disc protrusion and an "associated annual tear" in his lower back. It also identi- fied "moderate degenerative disc disease" and arthropathy, a degenerative disease in the spine joints and cartilage. On Oct. 21, 2013, the worker stopped working and advised the WSIB that although his symp- toms had initially improved, the pain in his low back and left leg had never fully ceased and was now increasing. Two months later, he underwent a surgical procedure to relieve pressure on his spinal nerve caused by a her- niated disc. The worker filed a workers' compensation claim for a recur- rence of the original 2012 injury, supported by a report from his family doctor that the original diagnosis of a back strain was incorrect. The WSIB and an appeals resolution officer both denied the claim, finding the worker's atest injury wasn't com- patible nor had continuity with the original strain injury. The worker appealed to the Ontario Workplace Safety and Appeals Tribunal. The tribunal referred to the WSIB operational policy man- ual document relating to injury Original > pg. 7 Credit: Shutterstock/Kzenon

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