WORKER'S COMPENSATION
If you are injured at work, you may have to submit
a claim to the Workplace Safety Insurance Board
(WSIB). The WSIB is funded by employers. Not everyone
who is an employee has coverage through WSIB. Some
employers are mandated to have WSIB coverage (for
example farming, construction, manufacturing), for
others such coverage is optional. If you are hurt
at work or off the work site but you think you might
have been engaged in work duties at the time of
your injury, you should immediately report the injury
to a supervisor at work and determine if you have
WSIB coverage offered to you. Keep in mind that
some employers do not offer WSIB even though they
should. In these case you might still receive WSIB
benefits and your employer may face harsh penalties
from the Board.
The process usually starts with the employer reporting
your injury to WSIB. Understand that an approved
WSIB claim will likely increase the amount of premium
the employer has to pay to WSIB. Unfortunately this
means that some employers may be uncooperative in
the process.
There is a six month deadline from the date of the
injury to file a claim with WSIB.
If a claim is denied, you have a right to appeal.
Depending on the type of claim being denied, you
may have as little as 30 days or as long as six
months to appeal.
WSIB offers a number of different benefits. Loss
of Earnings benefits will ensure that you receive
approximately 85% of your pre-injury net pay. Physiotherapy,
prescriptions and other types of treatment that
are supposed to assist with recovery are also paid.
If you are unable to return to your pre-injury job,
Labour Market Re-entry services are offered with
a goal of returning you to alternative types of
employment. If you suffer a permanent impairment
you may also be eligible to receive a Non-Economic
Loss benefit. Depending on the size of the award,
this could be paid in a lump sum or by way of smaller
monthly payments.
There are situations where you may be able to choose
to claim between WSIB or some other benefit scheme.
Usually you are unable to sue your employer if they
have coverage through WSIB and you are hurt while
engaged in your usual employment activities. There
are circumstances, though, where you will have a
choice to receive WSIB or some other form of compensation.
Take, for example, a delivery driver who has WSIB
coverage and is in the course of his employment.
Assume he is rear-ended by a taxi driver without
WSIB coverage. The delivery driver must choose between
claiming WSIB benefits or claiming statutory accident
benefits and suing the taxi cab driver. It is important
to get advice from an experienced personal injury
lawyer in order to properly weigh the advantages
and disadvantages of each selection. The election
must usually be made within three months of the
date of loss, so be sure to consult with a lawyer
at the earliest opportunity.
The Law Office of Lawrence H. Calenti, Professional
Corporation, does not handle WSIB claims at either
the adjudication or appeals branch levels. We will
handle claims that are heard at the Workplace Safety
Insurance Tribunal (W.S.I.A.T.) which address the
issue of whether or not an employee is precluded
from suing another party in tort because he or she
was arguably in the course of employment at the
time of the injury.