Workers’ Compensation Do’s and Don’ts - …

1 1 Workers Compensation Do s and Don tsRush Crane Guentherhas represented thousandsof injured workers overseveraldecades,throughchangingWorker s Compensation legislation, andthereare someproblemsthatwecontinue tosee time and article willtake a look at some of thepitfallsin the system along with some do s and don ts that we hope will help you avoid some miseryshould you havean injury on RateOne of therealinjusticesthose with a good incomeencounteris the cap on wagerate set bythe Boardsets a maximumwage that can be paid toinjured workersso regardless of the amount of money youwere earning whenyou were injured, WCB will only pay you up to their maximum currently$80, pays 90% of the net amount of a worker s earnings, which, for high wageearners, meansthey pay 90% of the net amount of the Board smaximum.

2 So,the most you can ever get from WCB for wage loss is $1, per you have an income that is below that amount but work a lot of overtime orpremium pay work that takes you over $80,600, that s the most you are going maximum wage rate is usedboth for wage loss while you re off work andalso for calculating your pension ifyou re permanently disabled. So if WCBassesses your permanent disability and tells you you re getting an award of 8%,that s actually 8% of the maximum wage rate at best. Your pension is paidmonthly until age 65, or later in some cases, but the amount is only indexed forinflation MINUS 1%! Soin addition to the low wage rate,every year you re fallingbehind a little morebecause of the reduced inflation , if you areonlyable to return to work part-time after a serious injury, theWCB willalso onlytop-up your wages tothe Board can beterrible forhigh wage earners-sayyou generally make $100,000a yearworkingfull time, butthenare only able to workthree days a week after your injury, the1 Legally, it s still the Workers Compensation Board (WCB).

3 In 2002, sweeping changeswere made to the workers Compensation system (seeour paper:Insult to Injury), whichsignificantly reduced benefits for injured was at that time the WCBrebranded itself to be WorkSafeBC , which is a marketing name, not a legal name. Forus, WorkSafeBC represents the erosion of benefits for injured workers and the name,in our opinion, puts an onus on workers to work safe rather than on employers toprovide safe work. So for us, it remains the will only compensate you up to their maximum, which may end up being notop-up at t Report an InjuryUnions tryto gettheirmembers to report to the employer and the WCB wheneverthey arehurt. Many however, knowing that WCB benefits are very low,feel theycan t take the hit andwill just opt for lighter work or they may take fewer shiftsuntil they get better.

4 Health care workers often fall into this trap because of theavailability of alternate or part-time problem is:if you have been working fewer shifts or working at a lesserpaying job while you are trying to recover, thiscouldaffect your wage rate on example,Lauranormally works full-time (or more).One dayshe is lifting abox onto a high shelf when it slips. She catches it but jars her back in may not feel anything at first, feels okay whenshe goes home atthe end of the shift, butthenext morning wakes up with back is sore from theincidentthe day before butshe doesn t want tomake is too sore to work full-time soshe decides to take a fewsickdays or vacationdaysoff torest week it's still sore soshe worksonly a couple of she waits for it to recover, she may post into a lighter orpart-time make a long story short, Laurafinds after three orfour months of workingpart-time thatsheactually hadsustained a disc herniation.

5 She now needs tohave surgery and will be off completely for a few months. She now has didn t report the injury to the employer and theWorkers Compensation Actrequires herto tell the employer as soon aspracticable . She s going to have troublegetting the claim accepted; has been working part-time for the last few months, herwage rate is going to be can convince the WCB thatshe's been working less, or posted into a lower paying jobdue to acompensable injury,she will now have a lower wage rate under the moral of this story is: always,alwaysreport(even if you don t miss a day ofwork)because you don t know when an injury is going to turn outto bemoreserious thanyou , if you are taking lower paying or fewer shiftsdue to an injury at workmake sure the employer knows!

6 Returning to Work3 One very important rule for dealing with the WCB is to make sure they know thatyou are still having symptomsif you return to a WCBCase Manager asks you how you are, and you answer, better that will NOT be interpreted to mean better than when I was first injured. It willbe interpreted to mean, BETTER, completely better! No problems at all .If you still have back pain, or headaches, or any other symptoms,say so. Makesure you continue to see your doctor you return to work and ninemonths later your back (or whatever) is so bad that you have to go off again,unless you have been creating a good paper trail with visits to the doctor and firstaid, the WCB will tell you that your current problems cannotpossiblybe related toyour prior compensable injury.

7 It's just a coincidence that you are now havingback problems in the exact area where you had your accident nine months 's amazing how many coincidences happeninworkers comp ConsequencesMany workers have a self-image as resilient, strong, and impervious topsychological outdated idea oftenkeepsthosewho are suffering apsychological conditionfrom seeking the case ofseriousinjury (either toyourself or observingothers being hurt), there may well be long term effects suchas post traumatic stress disorder. You don t usually know you have thisconditionuntilsome time has passed. Again, see your doctor immediatelyif you suspectyou are suffering psychological consequences! Tell your employer, and mostimportantly, seek treatment.

8 The sooner you get help, the better your chances is not a reflectionon youif you arehavingpsychological problemsafter an is another common consequence of injury. In cases wherepreviously healthy individuals are now living with disability, and particularlychronic pain, it is normal to experience have represented manyinjuredworkersover the years who were struggling with PTSD, anxiety,depression, phobias, are all normal consequences of injuryand theyshould be covered by the WCB if they result from a work-related NOT a reflection on you if you suffer from them and you should employer has an obligation to accommodate a worker with an injurywhetherit happened at work or employer must accommodate you to the point ofundue hardship.

9 This means, as the Supreme Court of Canada has said, thatthe employer is expected to absorbsomehardship in order to allow people withdisabilities to return to doesn t mean that you can bump somebodyout of a jobbut it does mean that the employer must sitdownwith you and the4union to find out what kind of work they may be able to offer you that will fit go to your union first before seeking an AgeThe law changed in Canada a few years back to abolish mandatory retirement atage now work as long as they choose, and many are doing the Workers Compensation Boards continue to terminate pensions at age 65unless a worker can convince them that, in their individual case, the likelihood ofworking past age 65 is is a very hard test to meet.

10 The WCB has to be dragged kicking andscreaming to grant a pension to a later age. We have been successful in many ofourpensionappeals at getting a later retirement date, but it's a long haul and youhave to gather persuasive evidence to support your is something you can donowthat could help you get a longer pension ifyou get injured: tell your employer, verbally and in writing that you intend to workto age 70 or 75 (or whatever date you plan to work to.) Tell your friends and co-workers. Make plans with your ofthis is good evidence that we can use to win a retirement age appeal. TheWCB won't just take your word for it that you planned to work past age have evidence of your intentbefore you were injured.