My First BLOG!

Welcome to my first Blog written by FightWCB for injured workers and those who help injured workers. Thank you for stopping by...

OK, originally, I was starting of a post about the Risks of Medications and Return to Work. It was to start off as a small and simply Facebook post, but like most injured worker stories - nothing is ever simple! It has blown up in to a larger story, or article. So, as a result, I decided to make a ‘Blog’. I have never been a fan of the word blog. It sounds like someone throwing up! I am sorry, but it does to me!

At any rate, Blog is short for Weblog and is defined as “a regularly updated website or web page, typically, one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style”.

So, this is my first Blog. My second is what caused the need for the blog which is the Risks of Medications and Return to Work. I won't get into the chicken and eg argument. I will just state this is the first blog.

Here in my first blog, I am going to discuss what I will talk about in my future blogs, as well as who is my likely audience. This way people will have a better understanding of what my blogs are about and why they might want to read them! 

To start off with, I have been an injured worker for more than twenty years. I was injured on February 6, 1997, when a load fell on me hitting my back, neck, and head. Regarding knowing the work accident date, I am extremely embarrassed to say I remember that date as my own name, sometimes I forget my own name, but I always remember that date! However, sadly, I sometimes forget my daughter’s birthdate, and I was there! Sadly, I remember the date I was hurt! Sorry Abbey! They say we remember pain, more than we remember pleasure. Perhaps, this is why our society revolves around punishment rather than rehabilitation.

At any rate, I have been fighting the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board – WSIB, which is Ontario’s (Canada) workers compensation Board, as well as the Workplace Safety & Insurance Appeals Tribunal – WSIAT, which is Ontario’s workers compensation appeals tribunal for more than twenty years. I have also filed a civil lawsuit against both the WSIB and the WSIAT. The matter is presently before the Court of Appeal for Ontario, where I am awaiting their decision – Fingers & Toes crossed! I prepared my civil lawsuit; opposed the WSIB & WSIAT motions to dismiss my appeal; the WSIAT’s motion to exclude audio evidence; then prepared, filed, and argued my appeal at the Court of Appeal for Ontario. I did all this as a self-represented individual with very little help from a lawyer or other source. I will say the court clerks have provided an invaluable assistance with procedural advice. Please never ask them for legal advice only procedural advice.   

Interesting side note on Why WSIB and not WCB also how the WCB came into reality:

I’ll do these ‘side notes’, so people reading my blogs have a better understanding of information.

The Conservative ‘Harris’ Government in 1997, changed the workers compensation law with the passing of Bill 99. There were numerous changes to the law, as well as the name change from WCB to WSIB and WCT to WSIAT. This also reduced benefits to injured workers from 90% of net to 85% of net. I still remember when the Harris conservatives defended this reduction. They did it

claiming that it will encourage workers back to work.  

The change to law, maybe I would agree with, if I was a person who lacked any feelings towards other human beings and put profit solely above human life. However, I would not agree with the name change. After all, didn’t it cost money to change the name from the WCB to the WSIB. For example, the signs on the buildings, business cards, letter heads, etc. For a provincial organization of this size, it must have cost thousands, tens of thousands of dollars to make all these changes. This confirms that the law changes were solely not about saving money, they were about what I have no idea!   

To this day, I still thank God, every day for me being hurt prior to the coming into force of the WSIA – January 1, 1998. However, in typical fashion the law did apply to all decision in my case after January 1, 1998 and I have no doubt the WSIB staff applied the law regardless of date of injury.    

Interesting side note, within a side note: In Canada, Ontario was the first province that started a workers’ compensation system within Canada. With the enactment of the first workers compensation law, which came into effect in 1915. Prior to this, workers had to sue their employers. This was under the British law

of 1865. This law gave workers who were hurt in the workplace, the right to sue their employers for workplace accidents. Unfortunately, in the nineteenth and into the turn of the twentieth century, workers injured at work, would have to pay their legal fees upfront. This is unlike today, where we have personal injury lawyers, with their faces on every billboard and transit bus. With all of them offering no upfront fees for representation. This left many injured workers without protection. Leaving them at the mercy of society. This prompted the government of the time, to investigate alternative options to workers suing their employers for workplace injuries. What is amazingly ironic, is that the

government of the time that was in power was the conservative party. I say this as eighty-three years later it would be the conservative party under the power of Mike Harris, who would virtually destroy it, with the enactment of Bill 99 and the WSIA. In 1914, his honour Sir Justice Ralph Meredith was commissioned to study alternative options. As a result, he provided a report to the provincial legislature and within the report he offered his five principles for a new workers compensation system. They were: no-fault compensation, security of benefits, collective liability, exclusive jurisdiction and administration by independent boards. In Ontario the workers compensation system came into effect with

the enactment of the first workers compensation law on January 1, 1915.  His honour Sir Justice Ralph Meredith’s principles spread across Canada and throughout the United states. All except two states have workers compensation, which are the state of Tennessee and New Jersey.

    

So, my point of talking about my many years’ experience as an injured worker and fighting both the WSIB and the WSIAT in the appeal process, as well as in the courts, is that I have gained some helpful knowledge, that I think other injured workers could benefit from. Therefore, I decided a few years ago, to start a website which is www.fightwcb.org. In the website, I try to provide helpful information for injured works to learn how to fight their respective WCB.

As I mentioned earlier, in this blog, this blog was done by accident. However, it will be focused in content that is similar nature to the website. This is helping injured workers fight their respective WCB and their employers with workplace injuries.

The main audience of the blog will likely be injured workers, injured worker advocates, representatives for injured workers, as well as possibly others who service injured workers such as healthcare professionals and others.

Call Me Out!

I want this blog to be as helpful as possible and in order for that to happen I need critics, which are you. If you see something you do not agree with in the sense of it is not correct or factual please send me a message and let me know. If I am found to be wrong, which it happens more time than you will ever know 😊 I will correct it and even give you credit for it. As I said the point of this Blog and my web site is to help injured workers fight their respective. To also with information, maybe help injured workers avoid a fight with their WCB and/or their employer with correct helpful knowledge. This can only be done with your help!

I hope you find my Blogs enjoyable, informative and most of all helpful in your fight!