An ONA member will receive more than $800,000 in retro and current payment following a successful Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) appeal.
The member we’re calling Riley to protect their identity was a full-time RN, who worked at a hospital for close to 30 years.
In March 2014, they slipped in a puddle of sanitizer at work and fell, sustaining a sprained ankle. The WSIB claim was approved for initial entitlement, and Riley was off work for two weeks before returning to reduced hours and modified duties.
Both the employer and WSIB agreed to a gradual increase in the return-to-work plan, determining Riley could resume full pre-accident job duties and hours as of June 30, 2014. WSIB paid partial loss of earnings (LOE) until June 20, 2014, but denied any further LOE benefits.
Riley continued to work in a modified capacity until being laid off by the employer on July 15, 2015. She never worked again for this or any other employer.
WSIB accepted a left ankle permanent impairment and awarded a 6 per cent Non-Economic Loss (NEL) benefit, which is meant to compensate for the permanent effects of workplace injuries/illnesses on a worker’s quality of life.
Riley also suffered from non-work-related back pain and a lack of overall mobility as result of that, her left ankle injury and other general health conditions. Riley was approved for CPP disability benefits in 2022 and received a settlement from the employer in 2023 as part of a grievance related to being laid off.
ONA appealed the WSIB decision, moving through the appeals system until reaching the final step, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT), where we held an oral hearing in April 2025.
Our arguments focused on Riley’s distinguished career as a dedicated RN, emphasizing that evidence demonstrated it was the work injury that unfortunately ended her career early, which the WSIAT accepted.
WSIAT approved full LOE benefits from July 15, 2015 to August 2, 2023, the date of settlement with the employer. However, WSIAT didn’t approve or deny the remaining LOE benefits and directed WSIB to further assess and decide on entitlement beyond August 2, 2023.
Following further submissions from ONA and discussions with a case manager and senior management at WSIB Operations, we won for this member!
WSIB agreed to approve all remaining full LOE to age 65.
WSIB agreed to approve all remaining full LOE to age 65, ruling that since WSIAT already approved full LOE for dates beyond the six-year final review date in 2021, they were bound by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act to do so. (WSIB is required to conduct a final review after six years and generally can’t make changes to benefits after that date).
The WSIB decision also confirmed that Riley’s CPP disability pension would not be offset from LOE benefits because the CPP approval occurred in 2022, after the 2021 final review date.
The monetary amounts of this win include the following retro and ongoing payments:
The WSIAT decision is an important one, reinforcing that, among other key points, ONA members can still receive full compensation from WSIB even if non-work medical conditions are part of their overall disability, as long as the work injury is a significant contributing factor.
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