K. Gordon

The employer objected to a Case Manager's decision allowing the worker loss of earning (LOE) benefits for a period following a workplace burn injury.

The employer argued that suitable modified duties were offered to the worker, which she declined.

The Appeals Resolution Officer found that medical evidence supported the worker's fitness for modified duties and that the employer's offer was within her physical restrictions.

The employer's objection was allowed, and the worker was found not entitled to LOE benefits for the disputed period.

The worker, a 59-year-old teacher, suffered a compensable left shoulder rotator cuff tear after slipping on ice in 2009.

He underwent surgery and was deemed fully recovered by September 2010.

In 2014, he sought ongoing entitlement for his left shoulder, claiming a newly discovered bone spur was caused by the surgery, and initial entitlement for his right shoulder, claiming it was also injured in the 2009 fall but masked by the left shoulder pain.

The Appeals Resolution Officer denied both appeals.

The left shoulder claim lacked continuity and clinical compatibility, and the bone spur was deemed degenerative based on the WSIB Medical Consultant's opinion.

The right shoulder claim was denied due to a five-year delay in reporting and lack of contemporaneous medical evidence establishing proof of accident.