- Dermatitis
- Second Injury and Enhancement Fund {SIEF} (severity of preexisting condition)
- Preexisting condition (asthma)
The employer appealed a decision of the ARO which concluded that the employer was not entitled to Second Injury and Enhancement Fund (SIEF) cost relief for the worker's allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). The employer's representative argued that the worker was an "atopic" individual, someone that is more sensitive to allergens than a normal person, and therefore more vulnerable to contracting the claimed dermatitis in this case.
The Vice-Chair denied the appeal.The Vice-Chair accepted that the worker suffered from asthma during childhood. However, that condition was not evident or symptomatic once the worker became an adult. Nor was it found to have required treatment during periods of disability or disrupted employment. For SIEF purposes, there was no pre-accident disability found in the worker. Nor was it found to be an underlying or asymptomatic condition which became manifest post-accident. The Vice-Chair relied on the medical discussion paper which outlines numerous potential contributing factors to ACD. Genetic predisposition is one of several factors, with the most important cited as being recent skin damage or trauma at the site of contact of the allergen. The medical discussion paper also discusses endogenous (internal) factors that may make a person more susceptible to contracting ACD. The medical discussion paper did not support a clear causal connection between an atopic individual that suffers from asthma, for example, and susceptibility to potential allergens applied to the skin. The worker's medical assessments and follow-up reporting in 2019 also clearly noted positive allergic reaction testing to airborne materials in the workplace, and a recovery to an asymptomatic state once the worker was in a new position. This supported an occupational source for the worker's ACD, without discussion of any non-occupational or pre-existing condition. The medical evidence did not reveal any specific diagnoses or discussion of the worker's childhood asthma or atopic state as a factor that impacted the onset or prolonging of the worker's ACD.