Donna Bowker

The worker appealed a decision denying initial entitlement for a low back injury allegedly sustained while lifting a 60-pound table at work.

The employer disputed the claim, citing delayed reporting and a lack of visible injury at the time.

The Appeals Resolution Officer allowed the appeal, finding the worker's consistent reporting of the mechanism of injury and subsequent medical diagnosis of a soft tissue injury satisfied the criteria for a disablement unexpected result under WSIB policy.

The issue of the impact of pre-existing degenerative changes shown on MRI was remitted to the operating area.

The worker, a police officer with a previously established claim for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), appealed a case manager's decision denying entitlement to a recurrence of PTSD.

The worker had returned to work in a courthouse screening role but stopped working in May 2019 after experiencing suicidal thoughts and a deterioration in mental health, which coincided with the death of their father and ongoing workplace stressors.

The Appeals Resolution Officer allowed the appeal, finding that the worker experienced a significant deterioration in their compensable psychological condition that did not result from a significant new incident and was clinically compatible with the original injury.

The worker was granted full loss of earnings (LOE) benefits from May 21, 2019 onward.