Category Archives: Workers Compensation

Hazmat, Health & Safety, Health and Wellness, Occupational Hygiene, Workers Compensation

Disease the leading cause of B.C. work deaths, say new stats

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WorkSafeBC, British Columbia’s workers’ compensation authority, has released new statistics revealing that occupational disease has consistently ranked as the leading cause of work-related fatalities in the province since 2009, when it overtook traumatic injuries.

The organization’s annual report on B.C. occupational health and safety statistics, published on Sept. 30, stated that in 2014 alone, 57 per cent of occupational deaths in the province had resulted from work-related diseases. The same year also saw 77 deaths resulting from asbestos-related diseases in B.C. – an increase from 59 in 2013 – amounting to more than one death every five days on average.

The report also revealed that the rate of work-related traumatic injuries causing death had decreased by 68 per cent in B.C. over the previous 25 years, while the rate of deaths from occupational illnesses had steadily increased. WorkSafeBC cited exposure to asbestos as a significant cause of the latter group of fatalities, elaborating that many of the deaths from diseases had resulted from asbestos exposures from past decades.

“Every death at a workplace has a far-reaching effect on the families, friends and co-workers left behind,” Al Johnson, WorkSafeBC’s vice president of prevention services, said in a press statement regarding the new statistics. “WorkSafeBC continues to work with all its industry partners to prevent work-related deaths from injury or disease in B.C. workplaces.”

Every issue of WorkSafeBC’s annual reports highlights a specific issue, and the new, 152-page edition for 2014 statistics focused on work-related fatalities in B.C. In a section titled “Work-Related Deaths”, the report compared the five-year periods from 1990 to 2014; while occupational deaths from injuries decreased from 437 in the period from 2005 to 2009 to 337 in that from 2010 to 2014, deaths from work-related disease rose from 331 in the former to 398 in the latter.

In addition, asbestos exposure alone ranked as the highest cause of occupational deaths in B.C. in 2007 and every year since 2009. In 2005-2006 and 2008, traumatic injuries ranked higher.

A press release from WorkSafeBC about the new data quoted Tracy Ford, co-founder of the Asbestos-related Research, Education and Advocacy Fund, whose father died from mesothelioma less than 20 years after exposure to asbestos at work.

“My dad, Dave, was an electrician in Powell River and loved his job. He always put safety first,” said Ford. “If he had known about the dangers of asbestos and which products contained asbestos, he would have taken precautions. When he retired, he expected to have many healthy years ahead of him.”

The overall rate of work-related deaths in B.C. has declined by 42 per cent since 1990, the report also noted.

Health & Safety, Workers Compensation

WorkSafeNB claims employers receiving fraudulent sales calls

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SAINT JOHN, N.B. – New Brunswick’s workers’ compensation authority, WorkSafeNB, is warning the province’s employers that at least one person has been phoning companies, claiming to be a member of WorkSafeNB, stating that the companies’ safety equipment or training was inadequate and attempting to sell new goods or services. In an Oct. 2 press release, WorkSafeNB elaborated that someone had been trying to get employers to replace their first-aid kits or take additional Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System training, calling the companies’ current kits or training insufficient under provincial Occupational Health and Safety Act standards. “In some cases, the person tries to convince an employer to buy upgraded safety equipment from them or face fines,” WorkSafeNB stated in the release. “They may also suggest that workers could be denied benefits without their training.” WorkSafeNB clarified that it did not sell any products or services and that its staff members always carried WorkSafeNB identification when visiting worksites. The organization also advised employers to verify the identities of any individuals who claimed to represent it and to file complaints to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre when appropriate.

Health & Safety, Health and Wellness, Human Resources, Workers Compensation

Doctor suing WSIB and former employer over fraud claims

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A Hamilton, Ont. doctor has filed a lawsuit against the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and her former employer, Workplace Health & Cost Solutions (WHCS) in Vaughan, for wrongful dismissal from the latter – claiming that the former tried to force her to change her medical opinion about an injured worker, before pressuring the latter to fire her.

According to a Statement of Claim provided to COHSN and dated July 31, Dr. Brenda Steinnagel, 50, is seeking more than $1.3 million in damages from the WSIB and more than $1.8 million from WHCS, plus a declaration that the latter fired her wrongfully in April.

WHCS assigned Dr. Steinnagel to review the workers’ compensation claim of a hospital security guard who had suffered a head injury while restraining a patient late last year, the court document says. But Dr. Steinnagel, who had worked for the company since Sept. 2012, claims that WHCS opposed her medical opinion of the worker’s condition and even tried to “coerce” her into signing a statement that contradicted her conclusions. For several months, both WHCS and the WSIB allegedly waged “a relentless campaign” to make her alter her conclusions, but she refused to take part in the fraud, the Statement of Claim notes.

“She gave an opinion and was fired for reaching the wrong opinion from their perspective,” explained Mark Polley, Dr. Steinnagel’s lawyer, a partner with law firm Polley Faith in Toronto. “It’s a pretty outrageous situation, to be fired for refusing to participate in a fraud, essentially. That’s our view of it.

“And even if they disagreed with her opinion,” Polley added, “her role in a situation is to give the opinion and do it based on her opinion, not what someone else tells her.”

“There is no truth to Dr. Steinnagel’s allegations, and we deny acting wrongfully in any way,” WSIB senior public-affairs consultant Christine Arnott said in an e-mailed statement. “The WSIB will vigorously defend the lawsuit.”

But Polley countered that Dr. Steinnagel had received a forwarded e-mail from WHCS president Yvonne Chan on April 2, stating that WHCS was terminating her employment at the WSIB’s behest.

“So there was sort of a clear pressure, at least not to use her for opinions, which is basically the work they were doing,” said Polley. “So it doesn’t leave much room for her to do work there.”

Employment lawyer Greg McGinnis, who is defending WHCS in the suit, told COHSN that he believed Dr. Steinnagel’s accusations of improper conduct to be “without merit.” He added that he had filed a pleadings motion to have some of her claims struck from the case.

“We have taken the view that many of her claims are not properly pleaded and don’t actually belong in the claim,” said McGinnis, who practises with Toronto law firm Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark. “We acknowledge that she is making a claim for wrongful dismissal and that there’s a lot of extraneous noise surrounding that particular claim.” The WSIB has filed a similar motion on their part, he added.

The defendants’ pleadings motions will be heard in court on Oct. 26, with the lawsuit itself likely following in November.

“I’m not naïve; sometimes you are successful in that, sometimes you’re not,” said McGinnis, referring to pleadings motions. “That’s up to the judge.”

Polley speculated that this type of alleged fraud may be a problem with the workers’ compensation system overall. “What we’re hearing is that this is a more widespread issue than just this one case,” he said.

“It’s part of this general pressure to reach opinions that allow them to save money,” added Polley, referring to the WSIB. “It was the wrong thing to do regardless of whether they agreed or disagreed with the opinion.”

Health & Safety, Health and Wellness, Workers Compensation

Study sheds light on union safety effect in construction sector

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A recent study by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) in Toronto has concluded that unionized construction firms are more likely to submit work-related injury claims than non-unionized construction firms are – but also that unionized companies in the sector are less likely to submit lost-time injury claims.

“Protecting Construction Worker Health and Safety in Ontario, Canada” appeared on the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s website on Sept. 2. IWH researchers examined construction-industry claims submitted to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, Ontario’s workers’ compensation authority, from 2006 to 2012. Thirty-nine thousand non-unionized companies and 5,800 unionized ones had submitted the claims, according to an IWH press release.

Among the findings: unionized construction firms submitted a 13 per cent higher rate of claims overall and a 28 per cent higher rate of no-lost-time claims (or claims that required healthcare treatment without time off work), while non-unionized firms submitted a 14 per cent higher rate of lost-time claims and experienced an eight per cent higher rate of musculoskeletal injuries.

“What we think is going on is simply that leadership is encouraging people to report injuries,” explained Dr. Ben Amick, a senior scientist with IWH and one of the study’s lead investigators. “Unions are supporting that reporting, so you feel safe to report, and so you’re seeing more claims; that allows companies to identify and target areas where there are problems to reduce hazards,” he added. “I don’t think it’s any more complicated than that.”

Dr. Amick said he believed that the study showed that unions have a positive effect on occupational health and safety – “if you think that one indication of safety is claims data,” he noted. Unionized firms “seem to perform better if you value workers’ compensation claims rates as an important performance outcome.”

The study, which the Ontario Construction Secretariat funded, calculated the aforementioned rates after adjusting figures based on firm size. When the data were not adjusted, the study said, unionized construction firms were still 13 per cent more likely to submit claims overall, but 35 per cent more likely to submit no-lost-time injury claims, 23 per cent less likely to submit lost-time claims and 17 per cent less likely to have musculoskeletal injuries.

Dr. Amick offered several speculations to explain the study results, including differences in safety training among firms. “We think part of it is due to what’s going on at the site, the policies and practices that are being implemented during the workday. We think it might have something to do with how joint health and safety committees perform,” he said. “We think some of it may actually have to do with just the fact that union employees are a little older, they have more experience.

“And all these things are plausible.”

One of the study’s hypotheses was that oh&s is one of the indicators of high performance in a company, leading to higher-quality work with fewer errors or problems.

“This is just one piece of a bigger puzzle that has to do with union-certified employers just being better performers,” said Dr. Amick. “Health and safety’s nothing more than part of good operational work. And that’s probably more important in construction than in many sectors.”

“Protecting Construction Worker Health and Safety” can be downloaded from http://journals.lww.com/joem/Abstract/publishahead/Protecting_Construction_Worker_Health_and_Safety.99044.aspx.

Compliance & Enforcement, Health & Safety, Occupational Hygiene, Transportation, Workers Compensation

New initiative aims to reduce injuries in N.B. waste-collection sector

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New Brunswick’s workers’ compensation authority has launched an initiative to improve worker safety in the province’s waste-collection industry. Safe Waste Collection (SWC), announced by WorkSafeNB on Sept. 1, is a strategy aiming to promote safety culture in the sector.

A two-year initiative, SWC will focus on safety education, compliance activities, public awareness of safety issues and recommendations for mandatory safety policies in the industry, according to a WorkSafeNB press release. This month, WorkSafeNB representatives will begin consulting with every single employer in the industry to discuss health and safety procedures and practices.

“As we have done with other high-risk industries, WorkSafeNB is focusing its efforts to help workers in waste collection,” WorkSafeNB president and CEO Gerard Adams said in a press statement. “Waste collectors face risks daily. They have a difficult job.

“We are working with employers and workers to ensure they have the resources and support needed to reduce these risks,” added Adams.

Backgrounder information from WorkSafeNB noted that the province had seen four fatalities in the waste-collection sector since 2003. The organization also claimed that waste-collection employees in New Brunswick were three times as likely as employees in any other sector in the province to become injured at work.

The initiative is a result of consultations between WorkSafeNB and numerous stakeholders, including private waste-collection employers, municipal governments and regional service commissions. Feedback from stakeholders in the industry helped to form the program’s strategies.

Another major aspect of the SWC program will be increased training and orientation for waste-collection workers, WorkSafeNB stated. Next spring, the organization plans to start inspecting industry employers’ facilities and mobile equipment. At about the same time, WorkSafeNB will also launch a public-awareness campaign aimed at homeowners, illustrating how they can help provide a safer job environment for these workers.

Among the ways that residents can help waste collectors, as suggested by WorkSafeNB, are to keep trash bags free from sharp objects and within recommended weight limits and to remove any tripping dangers from curbsides or the ends of driveways. “Your curbside is their workplace,” said Adams.

WorkSafeNB also intends to lobby for those who award work contracts in the sector to base their choices partially on safety policies and procedures. “Like the construction industry,” noted Adams, “we want safety to be a priority in the bidding process.”

SWC is the latest strategy by WorkSafeNB to curb workplace injuries and fatalities in the province. Previous WorkSafeNB initiatives in past years have focused on employee safety in construction, forestry, retail and nursing homes.

More information on SWC is available online at http://www.worksafenb.ca/safe-waste-collection.

Health & Safety, Workers Compensation

Drop in N.S. employer rates due to improved fishing safety, says WCB

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HALIFAX, N.S. – The Nova Scotia fishing industry is about to reach its lowest employer rate since 2004, due to significant safety improvements in the sector over the past two years, according to a Sept. 1 announcement from the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia (WCB). The Board revealed that the industry rate would decrease by 19 per cent for 2016, dropping to $6.51 per $100 of assessment. The WCB credited the rate drop to the establishment of the Safe at Sea Alliance in 2014, after which the number of days lost due to injury in the industry had dropped by more than one-third. The rate had previously increased every year for more than a decade because of a large amount of injuries and fatalities in the fishing sector, the Board said. “This strong drop in the overall industry rate demonstrates the safety progress we’ve seen firsthand over the past few years,” WCB CEO Stuart MacLean said in a press statement. “There is still much more work to be done, and the positive momentum needs to continue. The industry can’t stop now.” The WCB added that employer rates would be dropping for the aquaculture, fish-buying and fish-processing sectors as well.

Health & Safety, Health and Wellness, Legislation, Workers Compensation

Firefighting union launches website for PTSD sufferers

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WINNIPEG, Man. – Following the recent introduction of Bill 205, a provincial bill to recognize post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a compensable work disease in Manitoba (COHSN, June 16), the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg (UFFW) has launched a new website, PTSDTalk.ca, featuring videos of firefighters talking about their experiences with the condition. The site also includes links to resources such as the Canadian Mental Health Association’s information page on PTSD and the text of Bill 205, which would amend the province’s Workers Compensation Act to presume PTSD as a work-related condition. “It’s so important that we come out and we support the individuals that have the ability to talk about these issues,” UFFW president Alex Forrest said in an introductory video on the website. “It’s not a sign of weakness in any way, but it’s a sign of strength. I think this is an important aspect of being able to deal with PTSD.” The website can be viewed at http://www.PTSDTalk.ca.

Compliance & Enforcement, Hazmat, Health & Safety, Health and Wellness, Workers Compensation

WorkSafeBC increases demolition inspections re: asbestos

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RICHMOND, B.C. – British Columbia’s workers’ compensation authority has stepped up inspections of demolition and renovation sites this month, to make sure that workers are complying with provincial health and safety regulations when removing asbestos. In a press release dated July 13, WorkSafeBC said that it was also working with five municipalities, including Vancouver and Nanaimo, to require those applying for demolition permits to conduct proper hazardous-material surveys and distribute safety information in advance. In 2014, WorkSafeBC officers submitted 257 orders and imposed 20 penalties for contractors’ hazardous-materials violations following 210 site inspections, the organization said; in addition, 43 per cent of completed hazardous-material surveys were deemed inadequate. “While asbestos does not pose a health risk when left undisturbed, preventable exposures can cause fatal lung diseases,” Al Johnson, Vice President of Prevention Services, noted in a press statement. “Last year in B.C., 77 workers died from asbestos-related diseases just for going to work and doing their jobs in the mid-20th Century.” From 2005 to 2014, 581 B.C. workers died from diseases related to asbestos exposure, according to WorkSafeBC background information.

Health & Safety, Legislation, Workers Compensation

Alberta to adopt oh&s protection for farm workers

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The Alberta Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has announced plans to extend occupational health and safety legislation to agricultural workers.

The province is the only one in Canada that excludes farm employees from oh&s protection. But Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier announced on July 7 that he wanted to make safety protections for Alberta farm workers a reality.

“We feel that it’s time that farm workers no longer have an exemption from health and safety regulations,” Carlier told COHSN. “The same regulations that protect other workers should protect farm workers too. So we’re moving forward with that, just to make sure that farm workers, as all workers, have at least a little bit more of an opportunity to get home safe and sound every night.”

Carlier added that the legal details and timing would be up to the Ministry of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour, headed by Lori Sigurdson. “I’m still hoping sooner better than later, but I have no actual timelines,” he said.

Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said that he and his organization were very pleased with the ministry’s proposition. “We’re thrilled that the Notley government is living up to its commitment to extend basic workplace health and safety protection to agricultural workers,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do, and it’s long overdue.”

McGowan noted that every other Canadian province had already managed to establish a successful oh&s system for farm workers. “This isn’t rocket science,” he added. “The only shame in the situation is that it’s taken the election of a New Democrat government to do what should have been done literally decades ago.”

Carlier, whose NDP government had taken power in May, said he didn’t know why Alberta still lacked basic oh&s coverage for agriculture.

“I can’t speak on previous governments,” said Carlier, “but I know previous governments had been working forward. They had consultations and discussions with stakeholders, and we’re taking that a step further.

“I really don’t know why it’s taken so long, but the time has come to make the change.”

Last fall, then-Premier Jim Prentice stated that he would consider extending oh&s legislation to large-scale farms, but wanted to see more research on the problem before committing (COHSN, Oct. 13).

According to McGowan, the delay was largely attributable to lobbying in the province’s business community – “trying to give the impression that the sky will fall if basic workplace health and safety protections are extended to agricultural workers,” he explained.

“But this is nothing more than self-interested and overheated rhetoric. There is absolutely nothing to fear from extending these kinds of protections to agricultural workers and much to gain in terms of improved workplace health and safety.”

McGowan added that the lobbyists have remained opposed to oh&s coverage “because they’ve been given a free ride for so long. Apparently it’s difficult for them to realize that the party’s over. These kinds of basic workplace health and safety protections will not bankrupt any businesses, but they almost certainly will save lives.”

Eric Musekamp, president of the Farmworkers Union of Alberta (FUA), said that he was also optimistic with the direction in which the government was heading.

“I actually had a lengthy meeting with the minister,” he said, referring to Carlier. “He made that pledge to me personally and asked that I be a little bit patient and wait for him to make an announcement.

“I’m quite convinced that the ministry is sincere.”

The FUA has also met with the provincial Health, Education, Transportation and Environment Ministers to discuss safety protection for farming, Musekamp added. “They are in favour of doing this. They want to do it. They consider it to be an abomination to have these Dickensian standards in agriculture.”

Musekamp said he had advised Carlier to adopt oh&s legislation similar to that of British Columbia. “We proposed that the Alberta Federation of Agriculture be the entity from the agriculture side to deal with the government in bringing forward the reforms.” The Federation president had agreed with the union’s proposal to establish a farm and ranch training society similar to British Columbia’s.

Carlier acknowledged having had “frank” discussions with Musekamp on farm safety. “We’re looking at various models, but we need to have something that’s going to be made for Alberta and work for Alberta, both the producers and the workers,” he noted.

“Ultimately, I’m hoping for equality at law for farm workers, so that a farm worker’s the same as any other worker,” said Musekamp.

Health & Safety, Legislation, Workers Compensation

CCOHS co-authors oh&s legislation guide with WorkSafeNB

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Workers in New Brunswick have a new resource for information on their province’s occupational health and safety laws. WorkSafeNB, the provincial workers’ compensation board, has teamed up with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) to launch an online, bilingual Guide to OHS Legislation for laypeople.

Launched officially on May 12, the Guide is a web portal that provides easy-to-understand information on more than 30 oh&s-related topics in plain language. Among the subjects covered are air quality, fall protection, traffic control, respiratory protection, noise, power tools and many others.

“The bilingual Guide to OHS Legislation is available for computer, tablet and Smartphone,” WorkSafeNB communications officer Angela Kippers told COHSN. “More topics will be added annually.”

The topics are listed alphabetically on the guide’s home page, with each title linked to a separate page that presents basic legislative information in detail, often with accompanying images or graphs. Some terms in the text link to pop-up windows that act as footnotes, explaining legal definitions or context; others link to sections of the N.B. Occupational Health and Safety Act for further specification.

This is the first time that either CCOHS or WorkSafeNB has published a legislation guide like this for ordinary workers, according to a news release from WorkSafeNB.

“This represents a new generation of technology that makes essential information related to safe work widely accessible and that will benefit not only those in the New Brunswick construction industry, but in all provincial workplaces,” CCOHS president and CEO Steve Horvath said in a press statement about the guide.

WorkSafeNB president and CEO Gerard Adams called the new guide a “one-stop resource for workers and employers to understand not only what is required by legislation but, more importantly, what we can do to go beyond those requirements – to ensure we all return home safely after work” in his own statement. He also said that WorkSafeNB was “very excited” about launching the guide publicly.

CCOHS is planning to team up with other jurisdictions in Canada to create and publish similar guides, the organization stated in a press release.

The Guide to OHS Legislation can be accessed online at http://ohsguide.worksafenb.ca.