- Construction
- Disablement
- Significant contribution (of employment to disablement)
- Worker (deemed)
The worker owned and operated his own construction business since 1984. He did not have personal coverage. Effective January 1, 2013, s. 12.2 of the WSIA came into force, deeming independent operators, sole proprietors, partners and executive officers in the construction industry to be workers. In August 2013, the worker claimed entitlement for bilateral knee disablement. The worker appealed a decision of the Appeals Resolution Officer denying entitlement.
A disablement arising out of non-covered work is not employment within the scope of s. 13(1). In this sense, it is no different than activity outside of work. The change in the worker's status going forward as of January 1, 2013, did not change his past status. Accordingly, it did not change the fact that, until January 1, 2013, he was not a worker within s. 13(1) and his employment was not employment covered by the workplace insurance plan.On the evidence, by the end of 2012, just prior to obtaining coverage under the WSIA, the worker had a significantly symptomatic, longstanding bilateral knee condition, which became markedly worse after a fall in August 2012. The nature of the worker's work from January 1, 2013, was not a significant contributing factor to his bilateral knee condition. Accordingly, the worker did not have entitlement for his knees.The appeal was dismissed.