CSR | December 2018 | News
Worker's chronic pain had other causes than workplace injury
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permanent impairment and the
cervical spine condition wasn't
work-related. In addition, there
was no medical evidence that
the worker experienced ongoing
symptoms following her return
to full-time duties.
The worker appealed for enti-
tlement for a permanent impair-
ment of her neck, shoulders, and
back with evidence of treatment
for her neck and shoulders up to
2012. The Ontario Workplace
Safety and Insurance Appeals
Tribunal found there was consis-
tent evidence from the medical
reports that the worker contin-
ued to suffer pain in her neck and
shoulders, and the impairment
was "compatible with the nature
of the original repetitive strain
injury." The worker was granted
permanent impairment benefits
for her neck and shoulders — a
non-economic loss award of
eight per cent — but not her back.
The worker then filed a claim
for chronic pain disability (CPD),
arguing the pain she continued
to suffer since the workplace
injury in her neck, shoulders,
hands, and related headaches
limited her ability to work,
caused her anxiety, and affected
her social activities. She also said
she was forced to find work that
didn't involve using her hands,
arms, and fingers in a repetitive
way because of her carpal tun-
nel syndrome, but it wasn't easy
to find such work — she found
part-time work as a health care
trainer through a vocational re-
habilitation program, but could
only work four to five hours per
day for less pay. Her claim was
denied, and the worker appealed
the denial of entitlement for
CPD to the tribunal.
The tribunal noted that there
was no dispute that the worker
was injured at work — the WSIB
had recognized her entitlement
for shoulder and arm injuries.
However, at the time of her in-
jury in 2007, she was diagnosed
with repetitive strain to the neck,
shoulders, hands and risks, but
not carpal tunnel syndrome.
The tribunal found that from
2009 onward, the worker re-
ceived diagnoses for various
conditions while she lived in the
U.S. — migraines, carpal tun-
nel syndrome, thoracic outlet
syndrome, and jaw pain. All of
these were legitimate diagnoses
supported by medical documen-
tation, but they had their own
organic causes that were respon-
sible for the pain she felt in each
area. Only the pain in the work-
er's shoulders and arms were
related to her workplace injury,
and the worker already received
workers' compensation benefits
for that injury and returned to
work after her recovery, said the
tribunal in finding no compen-
sable permanent impairment.
"I recognize that the worker
may subjectively attribute the
symptomology in other areas,
beyond the neck and bilateral
shoulders, to the compensable
repetitive strain injury and an
evolution in its symptoms," the
tribunal said. "However, the evi-
dence before establishes that or-
ganic causes have explained the
worker's symptomology involv-
ing other areas, associated with
conditions for which she does
not have entitlement, and are
not areas of entitlement before
me to consider in this appeal."
The tribunal noted that the
level of the worker's pain may
be more than the eight-per-cent
non-economic-loss award pro-
vided, but it couldn't rule on that
as the only issue in the appeal
was the worker's entitlement for
CPD.
For more information see:
• Decision No. 2176/18, 2018
CarswellOnt 14842 (Ont.
Workplace Safety & Insurance
Appeals Trib.).
Chronic pain < pg. 5
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