Canadian Safety Reporter

7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 News | June 2018 | CSR repetitive reaching up at work. The tribunal noted that the WSIB had established a five- point checklist to determine if a claim could be allowed: There must be an employer, a worker, a personal work-related injury, proof of accident, and compat- ibility of diagnosis to accident or disablement history. The first three were clearly present, but the question of proof of accident and compatibility were in ques- tion. The tribunal also noted that there was no "moment of acci- dent," as the worker reported a gradual onset of right shoulder pain leading to disablement. It had been established that en- titlement for disablement re- quired "an injuring process asso- ciated with the employment that made a significant contribution to the worker's disability." The tribunal found that the tendinosis found in the MRI was described as mild and the work- er accessed the printer with dif- ferent arms depending on which of the two stations at which she was sitting. While performing her duties, the worker some- times used her left arm instead of her right arm to reach up to the printer, but she experienced no problems with her left shoulder at work. She only complained of pain while using her right shoul- der, which was injured in the non-compensable motor vehicle accident in December 2013, said the tribunal. As a result, the tribunal de- termined that the mechanism of the injury did not line up with the worker's shoulder injury. It noted that the OHCOW doctor believed the worker's job duties aggravated her shoulder condi- tion, but he didn't refer to the er- gonomist's report or how often the worker would be required to lift her right shoulder to reach this conclusion, making it diffi- cult to use it as persuasive sup- port of the worker's claim, the tribunal said. The tribunal found the motor vehicle accident was "a severe, acute trauma" that likely contrib- uted to the worker's condition and the worker's duties didn't require repetitive or prolonged use of arms above the shoulder level — it estimated the worker reached overhead to extract pa- per from the printer about once every 10 minutes, or six times an hour, and that included the times she used her left arm. In addition, the tribunal re- ferred to its discussion paper on shoulder disabilities, which stated that "work requiring re- petitive or prolonged use of arms above the shoulder level may ac- celerate the progress of degen- erative tendinitis" but "middle- aged or older people" could have weakened tendons where tears could happen easily. The tribunal dismissed the worker's appeal, finding no cau- sation in the worker's job duties with the development or aggra- vation of the tears and tendinitis in the worker's shoulder. "The fact that the problems with the tears (in the worker's right shoulder) became manifest while the worker was employed does not signify that the work necessarily contributed to or caused an aggravation," said the tribunal. "I find an insufficient basis in the sedentary, occasion- al and light duties performed by the worker to conclude that the workplace duties aggravated the tears." For more information see: • Decision No. 2316/17, 2018 CarswellOnt 4091 (Ont. Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Trib.). 'Sendentary, occasional and light duties' not a factor Car accident < pg. 6 Presented by Canadian Occupational Safety, this gala dinner brings together the entire safety community and provides an excellent opportunity to network with your peers and discover the best practices that are changing workplaces across Canada. Emcee: Todd Humber, Publisher, Canadian Occupational Safety Date: October 18th, 2018 | Location: Arcadian Court, Toronto 5:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception | 6:45 p.m. Gala Dinner and Awards Presentation Dress: Business Attire www.safestemployers.com COME TO THE CSE GALA EVENT CELEBRATING SAFETY MVPs EMPLOYERS SAFEST 2018 CANADA'S Presented by Strategic Partner Platinum Sponsor Bronze Sponsor Gold Sponsor Silver Sponsor Silver Sponsor Silver Sponsor Bronze Sponsor EXPERTS IN OCCUPATIONAL TESTING Reception Sponsor Gold Sponsor

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