- Preexisting condition (depression)
- Second Injury and Enhancement Fund {SIEF} (severity of accident)
- Second Injury and Enhancement Fund {SIEF} (severity of preexisting condition)
The Board granted the worker entitlement for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which was a result of the worker's cumulative exposure to a patient who repeatedly threatened violence against her and her property. The sole issue under appeal was whether the employer was entitled to SIEF relief with respect to the costs of the worker's claim.
The appeal was allowed.The Vice-Chair agreed that the worker performed work which would be similar to a first responder. The worker was a registered nurse, who worked in a mental health unit, and she was often sent to the Emergency Department to respond to "Code Whites." The worker had experience in interacting with physically and verbally abusive individuals. The Vice-Chair noted that for the determination of the severity of the accident in these types of cases (i.e., cases in which a first responder is granted entitlement for PTSD caused by the worker regular duties), all of the specific circumstances of the case must be taken into consideration. The Vice-Chair also set out a list of non-exhaustive factors that can be considered in making this determination.The Vice-Chair found that although the worker's regular duties involved Code Whites, and the worker routinely dealt with violent or aggressive people in her position, the work incidents were objectively traumatic. The worker was in close proximity to the patient for hours, while the patient was verbally abusive. Unlike a paramedic or 911 dispatcher, the worker was exposed to the traumatic work duties for extended periods of time, and repetitively, over several days. There were multiple factors that objectively increased the traumatic nature of the work incidents. For instance, the violent patient personalized the verbal attacks, and was known to be an individual that had behaved violently and used weapons in the past. The Vice-Chair concluded that the severity of the accident was moderate. In addition, the medical significance of the worker's prior depression was characterized as minor. The employer was entitled to 25% SIEF relief for the costs of this claim.