Dr. Markus

The worker, a Personal Support Worker, appealed a decision denying initial entitlement to WSIB benefits for tinnitus and hearing loss allegedly caused by COVID-19 vaccinations received in 2021.

The Appeals Resolution Officer found that while the employer used coercion making the vaccinations a compulsory part of employment, the medical evidence did not establish a causal link between the vaccines and the worker's hearing loss and tinnitus.

Relying on the opinions of Occupational Medicine Consultants, the Officer concluded that on a balance of probabilities, the conditions were not an adverse reaction to the vaccines.

The appeal was denied.

The worker appealed a decision denying entitlement for colon cancer, alleging it resulted from occupational exposures to chemicals and asbestos while employed in the rubber industry from 1954 to 1989.

The Appeals Resolution Officer reviewed medical and occupational hygiene evidence, including opinions from Occupational Medical Consultants and OHCOW.

The ARO found that the epidemiological evidence did not establish a significant association between rubber industry work and colon cancer.

The appeal was dismissed, as it was not shown that the worker's occupational exposures significantly contributed to the development of the disease.