Functional Overlay or Faking!

What is Functional Overlay   

Have you ever seen the term Functional Overlay in your WCB/WSIB/WorkSafe file and wonder what it meant?

Well overtime I wondered as well, and eventually, I learned to perform research in my many years of schooling. I found a shocking discovery that Functional Overlay is code for Malingering. Malingering means simple to exaggerate or fake an injury. What is interesting is that it is diagnosed like a real medical condition, yet according to several scholarly scientific research papers it is not a recognized medical condition by any medical association.

Click here to see the paper which states “Functional overlay is not a recognized psychiatric diagnosis.”

In other words, it is a made-up medical diagnosis to deny legitimate claims for workers compensation benefits, which is based on an allegation the individual is faking. What is even more troubling is that the doctors who make these diagnoses are usually medical doctors and not psychologists or psychiatrists. It is ironic as it is like a person being referred to a foot doctor for an ear problem.

Ironically mine was diagnosed by an orthopedic shoulder surgeon. Dr. Richard Holtby out of Holland Centre of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences located at 43 Wellesley street in Toronto. Interestingly enough, he never even discussed or explained it to me. This is but one of many major problems with Independent Medical Examiners (IMEs). IMEs are doctors paid by private insurance companies and workers compensation boards to provide medical proof an individual is not injured or not as severely injured, when they are. 

In most cases the IME's diagnosis and prognosis are contrary to the family doctor and many many other medical specialists the individual has seen. 

This is such a problem one doctor who was fired on the direction of the WSIB. The Doctor had refused to change her diagnosis to a less severe rating. In response the doctor filed a civil lawsuit against her employer and the WSIB. Click here to read the article. 

In my case, dad the, quack of a doctor,  bothered to talk to me, like a real doctor, he would have learned that my problems were from the extreme heavy and repetitive physical work I performed. You see every day I physically unloaded a 53-foot trailer with product loaded from floor to ceiling, and back to front. I was lifting varying weights from 1lb to 150lbs or more. Over time this takes a huge toll on the body. It is

now more commonly known as a repetitive strain injury. Another connection to look for is when the WCB/WSIB/WorkSafe claims a diagnosis of Degenerative Disc Disease – DDD is used. The WCB/WSIB/WorkSafe will claim it is an age-related condition, when in fact it is work-related condition. Again, scientific medical research confirms the blatant and deliberate misuse of medical information by workers compensation boards to deny legitimate claims for compensations.

Click here to see the medical report  

The paper uses an example of a nurse performing heavy repetitive physical work and being intentionally and incorrectly diagnosed with age-related DDD. The paper explains that in a normal person one would not see DDD until well into their 70’s, unless they were performign heavy repetivei physcial work - at work.

I was 29 years old when I was diagnosed by the WSIB appeals officer with age-related DDD. Ultimately, this is without question defamation of my character. So, to prove my point I submitted a freedom of information request for the WSIB’s meaning and origins of this diagnostic term they used to claim it is age-related when I know it is not. You see I had to do a freedom of information request as I had previously made a request to the WSIB Business Rules department and also sent a copy to WSIB legal counsel Mr. Belec, in June of 2019. Ironically my request was ignored. Well they can not ignore my request now.

I will update this post when I have more information from my freedom of information request…