WCB problems

[silver]

This not an easy thing to post but I am going to try. One day at work, a couple of weeks before xmas, I slipped and fell and landed on my knees. I reported this to my foreman. The initial doctors report diagnosed strains and a tear of certain ligaments. The company I worked for not only drove me to my medical appointments, they insisted on sending someone to accompany me into the exam room. I am for disclosure of medical info to my employer, but when they insisted on sending the van driver ( basically a labourer with no medical training ) in with me, I had enough. When I protested, I was told I was hiding something. There was one person who said,several times, in front of witnesses,that I should put away the crutches and stop faking it. Once , he even said he would meet me in town and fight me. Several months after the fall, the knee still wasnt improving, a mri was requested.The prognosis was there is nothing seriously wrong, just some fluid. Medical opinion was the fluid would go away on its own. One day at work, someone put this on the greasepen board in the coffee room. FRAUDULENT ACTS ARE PUNISHABLE BY DEATH!!!IF YOU GOT WEAK KNEES GO HOME TO YOUR MAMMY. Underneath was my nickname with an x through it. I reported this to safety and to the general foreman, waited to speak to the site superintendant but as he was still in a meeting, I left. Right now, I have no money coming in. The company wont pay as I am not showing up for work, Sask wcb wont step up because , in their eyes, my company provided me with suitable light duty work, and I know if I try unemployment insurance, one of the first questions will be if i have a wcb claim, and then deny me. I have talked to the Sask workers advocate, he said he would try to help, but its been a week now and I havent heard back from him. So what do I do now? Does anybody know a good labour lawyer?

[catnthehat]

The problem of course, as I see it anyway, is not so much WCB but the people you sre working with.
Someone there is a real stand up guy, putting that on the white board.
Knee problems are nothing to mess with , and although there may be water there, yes it likely will go away in time, but I am not talking as a doctor , just someone whom has experienced it.
You must be prepared to wear a brace for a while ( ten years for me) and have to take time everyday to stretch out the knee, etc. , before and during work.
My wife has knee injuries from varsity basketball that have never gone away, and I myself had undergone several operations on one knee,and the other still bothers me , depending on the weather.

Cat

[FishingMOM]

Silver,

Document, document, document!
Carry a small digital camera so you can photograph these incidents and head back into work.

Reason I say document is because you can file a report with labour board. This way you have documentation if you end up having to leave you can prove you were forced out. It will also prove that management didnt step in to assist you.
But sir please go back to work. I know it can't be easy but this is your best bet.

[trakker9]

First let me say that I am involved with a great company and am involved with situations like yours monthly. I am a supperviser and my wife is a safety officer. You should of manned up and dealt with the white board situation that day. When you are offered modified work and do not show up for work they do not have to pay you. The company wants you to work for them so they do not loose control of the claim. Go back to work. You are only hurting yourself and being on a pity trip is not helping you. There are jerks everywhere. Deal with it. The Compensation board views you as an emotional person and they won't want to deal with you if you don't man up. Don't forget that you claim is for life---- WHY SCREW THAT UP.

[u_cant_rope_the_wind]

X2 on what cat and fisher mom had to say , as well get a hand held tape recorder and record any and all conversations, and document everything DO NOT leave anything out, what company do you work for???? (just so I dont ever make the same mistake and hire on wth them)

[eastcoast]

Originally Posted by FishingMOM

Silver,

Document, document, document!
Carry a small digital camera so you can photograph these incidents and head back into work.

Reason I say document is because you can file a report with labour board. This way you have documentation if you end up having to leave you can prove you were forced out. It will also prove that management didnt step in to assist you.
But sir please go back to work. I know it can't be easy but this is your best bet.

this is right,I have been having similar things happen to me to a lesser extent,document everything, take pictures of everything,contact your mla to see what he/she can do for you,when you have enough evidence go to wcb and tell them you refuse to work there modified because you fear for your safety.if you have pictures of these things they will have a hard time refusing you on the grounds of safety,wcb will always believe your employer first,if you prove them wrong and yourself right they they will be on your side.

[eastcoast]

Originally Posted by silver

This not an easy thing to post but I am going to try. One day at work, a couple of weeks before xmas, I slipped and fell and landed on my knees. I reported this to my foreman. The initial doctors report diagnosed strains and a tear of certain ligaments. The company I worked for not only drove me to my medical appointments, they insisted on sending someone to accompany me into the exam room. I am for disclosure of medical info to my employer, but when they insisted on sending the van driver ( basically a labourer with no medical training ) in with me, I had enough. When I protested, I was told I was hiding something. There was one person who said,several times, in front of witnesses,that I should put away the crutches and stop faking it. Once , he even said he would meet me in town and fight me. Several months after the fall, the knee still wasnt improving, a mri was requested.The prognosis was there is nothing seriously wrong, just some fluid. Medical opinion was the fluid would go away on its own. One day at work, someone put this on the greasepen board in the coffee room. FRAUDULENT ACTS ARE PUNISHABLE BY DEATH!!!IF YOU GOT WEAK KNEES GO HOME TO YOUR MAMMY. Underneath was my nickname with an x through it. I reported this to safety and to the general foreman, waited to speak to the site superintendant but as he was still in a meeting, I left. Right now, I have no money coming in. The company wont pay as I am not showing up for work, Sask wcb wont step up because , in their eyes, my company provided me with suitable light duty work, and I know if I try unemployment insurance, one of the first questions will be if i have a wcb claim, and then deny me. I have talked to the Sask workers advocate, he said he would try to help, but its been a week now and I havent heard back from him. So what do I do now? Does anybody know a good labour lawyer?

here is where I would have stopped it before it started,the company gets all the medical reports from wcb and the doctors anyways,if they tried to bring someone in the room with me I would have flatly refused on the spot and if they didn't like it too bad,if people are allowed to push they will. stop them before it starts,now they are applying more pressure on you and you are letting them from what I have read.

someone at my work said I was faking it aswell I fell in november and have had an mri,ct scan and another added mri with dye done on me,when they said I was faking it I lost it in the office told them if they ever talk to me like that again they will regret it, and thanked them for their medical advise and didn't realize they were doctors and physiotherapists aswell as business owners and left promptly,they never said it to me again.

[silver]

When I wrote the post, I tried to be concise. I wrote down what was on the board, I went and got the safety man and he wrote it down, and the GF took a picture. I also used my camera phone to take a picture. I am a journeyman crane operator and I love my job. For light duty I was made assistant coverall room manager. I am not a young man, this is not my first rodeo, but I consider that to be a death threat. For me to go back, I would have to be healthy enough to do my trade, and one or two people sent down the road.

[eastcoast]

Originally Posted by silver

When I wrote the post, I tried to be concise. I wrote down what was on the board, I went and got the safety man and he wrote it down, and the GF took a picture. I also used my camera phone to take a picture. I am a journeyman crane operator and I love my job. For light duty I was made assistant coverall room manager. I am not a young man, this is not my first rodeo, but I consider that to be a death threat. For me to go back, I would have to be healthy enough to do my trade, and one or two people sent down the road.

if you refuse to go back it will be much harder on you in the long run,this claim is lifelong and can effect you forever so don't screw it up,go back, do what you do, take pictures of anything like this,get safety or others involved and when you have enough evidence bring it to wcb and say you fear for yours and others safety when you are at work,if that doesn't work contact your mla or even get a lawyer if you have to,don't let them push you around.

[FishingMOM]

Originally Posted by silver

When I wrote the post, I tried to be concise. I wrote down what was on the board, I went and got the safety man and he wrote it down, and the GF took a picture. I also used my camera phone to take a picture. I am a journeyman crane operator and I love my job. For light duty I was made assistant coverall room manager. I am not a young man, this is not my first rodeo, but I consider that to be a death threat. For me to go back, I would have to be healthy enough to do my trade, and one or two people sent down the road.

I would be talking with the labour board.
Not sure about sask, but you can refuse unsafe worksites/jobs. COVER YOUR BEHIND and talk to them.

[silver]

In Sask, the labour dept. has a workers advocate. I have talked to him and he was going to see what he could do to help, but I havent heard back from him.

[FishingMOM]

Originally Posted by silver

In Sask, the labour dept. has a workers advocate. I have talked to him and he was going to see what he could do to help, but I havent heard back from him.

Ride him until you get what you need from him and get your MLA involved.
Possibly file a police report?

[silver]

I have given him abit of time to do his thing but his time is just about up. I will ride him like a rented mule. I could let my mla know as a matter of form but I dont think there is much he can do. I dont know if this is a matter for the RCMP, but I was wondering about talking to Occupational health and safety and see what they have to say.

[eastcoast]

Originally Posted by silver

I have given him abit of time to do his thing but his time is just about up. I will ride him like a rented mule. I could let my mla know as a matter of form but I dont think there is much he can do. I dont know if this is a matter for the RCMP, but I was wondering about talking to Occupational health and safety and see what they have to say.

do something anyways it will let them know that you aren't going to take it anymore,sometimes that all you need,alot of companies and wcb for that matter are bullies and pick on the weak,if you fight back you would be suprised how fast they back down.

[bigdaddy37]

Silver, in reading your post, it sounds like your issues are an employer/employee HR and Labor relations issue, not a WCB issue or OHS (just ask your HSE guy)

I can't speak for that province, but in Alberta employers can access all of the medical information on your WCB claim that is related to your injury. I'm not sure about having another employee in the doctor's assessment with you is appropriate, but your employer driving you isn't so bad, especially if you've injured your leg (their cost, their wear and tear on the vehicle and their gas). Having them there to confirm the work restrictions put in place by the physician may not be a bad thing either. This way it's not only your word, but the word of someone else as to what the doctor said, as it CYA a bit with a second set of ears hearing the same thing said by the doctor.


I'd suggest looking into the labor/HR stuff because what your co-workers are doing isn't cool. It's childish and it's irresponsible of your employer to allow this to continue. Clearly your employer is unable to maintain confidentiality of your claim because co-workers appear to know more than they should about your injury. That's a breach of FOIP and federal PIPEDA (Sask doesn't have provincial personal information privacy legislation that I know of) and is a very serious issue. My suggestions, advise your employer you believe there is a breach of privacy according to fedaral privacy legislation along with your other HR concerns, give them a timeline to address your concerns, provide an explanation and give details on corrective actions taken. If this doesn't occur or or is not to your satisfaction, contact your provincial labor relations dept along with the Office of the Privacy Commisioner of Canada and begin the process for a breach of privacy info.

That'll get their attention, but it could also cause the boat to rock more than you'd like.

Good luck

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by silver

The company I worked for not only drove me to my medical appointments, they insisted on sending someone to accompany me into the exam room. I am for disclosure of medical info to my employer, but when they insisted on sending the van driver ( basically a labourer with no medical training ) in with me, I had enough. When I protested, I was told I was hiding something.

I've never been in quite the same situation you're dealing with but I think you could reasonably draw the conclusion that whomever is senior at your job site has made up his mind on the subject at that point.

How big is this company? Do they have an HR department in a nice quiet office building somewhere? If so I'll bet the nice people there won't think what is going on at your site is okay. They are obligated to hear you out, they may not be on your side but if your direct manager is screwing you they should put a stop to it.

Also the stuff on the whiteboard is a major leadership failure IMO, they should take action on that as well. Your medical / employment status is not the business of your fellow employees.

[bobly]

You are being subjected to indirect harrassment and you should be able to prove it. Indirectly some of your co-workers are humiliating you, degrading you and threatening you. It is your right to complain. Go for it. Once the gov't gets involved people start to sweat, squirm and behave. Employers introduce non-harrassment policies and things get better. You get to bet treated like a fellow human being. Good luck!

[Kim473]

harrassment is harrassment. Your employer has a legal responsability to prevent harrassment of any kind in the work place. File a complant with the labour board. Have proof of the incidents tho.