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Compensation WEEKEND EXTRA Ortakar Page workers are covered and under what circumstances Herald Special You are lifting crates at work when you feel a subbing pom In your back You put the crate down and your back eels better By midafternoon though the pain ia to bad you cant work anymore You have Just become a statistic There will be about hall a million work injured in Ontario this year costing about a billi on dollars in benefits pay meats This article the first of two will describe who is protected by workers compensation what injuries or diseases are covered and how you go about getting Workera Compensation is by the Workmens Compensation Board and governed by the Workmens CoiupenaaUoB Art The Act provides compensation Tor Injuries and diseases suffered on the lob Benefits are paid from an accident fund that nil employers pay Into the amount is decided on the basis of how many dents per year occur in that Industry not in that particular company Generally the Board pays a percentage or the Income you have lost because of the accident pays your medical bills gives allowances for medical aid such as art flclal limbs pays pen sions offers medical and job rehabilitation and pays death benefits Workers struggled or decades before they won these rights and in exchange had to give up the right to sue their employers for accidental injury It still may be possible however or someone to sue hit or her employer for Not all employees are protected by the Act Domestic and menial ants ore exempted though they may not be they are hired by an agency rather than a private individual It you work in shoeshining veterinary work dentistry funeral embalming photography taxidermy or if you work or an educational that is not admlm stored by a municipal school board you are not protected by the Act In addition most white collar desk workers and profes sionals cannot claim work compensation ANY ACT in Deniable accident long as it arises out of and in the course of employ ment In other words you must not only be on the job but you must be doing Accidents that result In death or serious injury are not subject to these last conditions About per cent of accidents occurr ing on the job in were compensable accidents If you become disabled over a period of time because of your job so that you can no longer do something you once could he Act says you can get compensation If you get a disease Legally a because of the nature of your work compensation is available from the time you had to atop working There are 15 compensable diseases such as bursitis arsenic poisoning silicon is and poisoning listed in the regulations of the Act If you are affected by any other disease the Board must decide whether that disease is compensable The Board is much less willing compensate or than for injuries If you die as a result of a work related accident or disease your funeral will be paid or and your spouse will receive a pension until he or she remarries Spouse Includes a commonlaw spouse of at least six years or two years if there are children STILL ELIGIBLE Even if you are out of Ontario on a business trip or you are temporarily working out of Ontario you ore eligible or work ers compensation bene- What work compensation benefits are available If you are a victim of a Job related Injury disease or disability it is your right to receive cert ain benefits Hew you get the compensation wit depend on your particular complaint but there arc a number of benefits avail able They fall under three main headings medical aid temporary benefits and permanent benefits Medical AM When you are injured at work your employer mutt at his or her own ex pense drive you home or to a hospital or to a doctor whom you choose The right to choose your own doctor an important one and you should be care ful to choose someone you trust The Compensation Board has a policy of refusing to let you change your doctor without lis permission After that the Board is responsible for paying all your medical bills includ ing those of your clans or bills from other qualified practitioners such chiropractors dentists or acupunctur ists special care or equipment costs artificial limbs back neck and leg braces glasses visits from nurses etc and drugs When you receive medical old benefits mm the Board remember that jour employer will no longer pay for pre miums so you must do this yourself If you have either minimal or no in come you should apply to the for premium assistance When your employer reports your accident or disease you will receive a claim number from the Board To receive medical care of any sort just give jour doctor or pharmacist your claim number and he or she will charge the Compensation Board directly Sometimes the Board decides you are not entitled to receive care that you and sometimes your doctor eel you need In that case you must pay or the services you want yourself The most money you can receive or cither tern porary or permanent benefits is per cent of a your gross salary or b a gross salary cell of whichever is less That means you can never receive more than per year or per week Work compensation benefits are not subject to income lax Temporary Benefits You cannot receive less than per week unless your average gross salary averaged over the month Just before the accident was less than that In which case you receive your actual salary you are temporarily totally disabled that is you cannot do any work you will receive per cent of your previous earnings until the Board decides that you are no longer disabled and can return to work The extent of your disability will be by your doctor the Board doctor and their assessment of your progress When you return to work you may still be parti ally disabled and so un able to do your former Job In this case the Board will pay you 75 per cent of the difference between what you to do It Is not good enough that the accident wouldnt have occurred unless you were working- if you suffer a car accl dent on the woy home from work you would not be given compensation in addition to these criteria the injury must have made you unable to work for more than one day at though you are entitled to medical aid Tor that one it BRIAN GOODLET Lift ftRSP Mutual Life of Canada or you used to make and what you make now If at any lime after returning to work your old Injury makes it impossible to work you will be put back on compensation at per cent your current However your partial disability may prevent you from returning to work and then the Board will pay you the same benefits now called temporary partial disability benefits you received while you were totally disabled If you all to cooperate with the ve the Board has constructed or you turn down employment hat is avail able and that the Board considers suitable or you the Board may cut off benefits entirely If you are still on tem partial benefits after one year you will receive a benefits increase of 10 per cent and 10 per cent again after another year though after that jour benefits will remain fixed Usually after such a long time the Board will consider you permanently disabled and give you a pension 3 Permanent Disability Benefits Pensions Allow nets and Rehabilitation After being on ry benefits until your con stabilizes that is you are unlikely to get belter or worse you will be assessed for a pen The value of the pension remember can not be greater than tne per cent gross salary ceil and depends on the severity of your disability The Workmens Com pensallon Board uses a disability rating chart that shows in percentages the approximate impairment of earning capacity or an average unskilled worker The loss of a thumb Is a per cent impairment of earning capacity loss of the first Joint of a thumb is a per cent Impairment or Continued on Page IS Campbells Lime Service Equipped to provide Hit Always Striving To You Belter LIME NOW I BUS DHT HIT SHI CALL 51 AVE ON HEATING COSTS We can cauh your doors chimneys etc to you energy Lowest Spodei Discounts tor Senior For More Information Call 8J78247 fits However in order to quail you must normal work in Ontario and your company must have its headquarters here Of course if you are working province for a company headquartered in that province you are covered under that provinces workers compensation legislation Once you are injured at work you must let your employer know Your employer must give first aid and have you driven to your home to your doctors office or to a hospital Your employer must also contact the Board They will open a claim file and decide whether to give you com pensation If they decide not to give you sation or If what you receive is inadequate you can appeal the decision to an appeals adjudicator as people did in 1M1 Appeals hearings are held In seven cities throughout Ontario aside from Toronto Many towns and soma cities dont have a Workmen Compensa tion Board officecheck the Blue Pages of the phone book for your nearest of In the Appeal Board will recon aider its decision or you can appeal from any of the lower decisionstages to the Divisions Court of the Ontario Supreme Court If you need help in dealing with the Compensation Board you may use the Board own employee ad visors your union rep a lawyer or other workers Armstrong Collision Centre Ltd -Auto- Truck Free Estimates All Work Is Guaranteed Armstrong Ave 87751 FutureLike Extension Phones Day Warranty Unbelievable low kw price only Custom Car Sound GEORGETOWN ONT LrOa Theyre Here The 1983s A twee that in lis exclusive work into ploy On electric slatting The farm handle many easy turning Dual Mode chorea you use a pick that won t lev up lot but at a less up top yot gives expense and with a lot you slump- pulling loss hassle On days oft Bon And the rugged lour the KIT la is you on that sand dunes open fWds delivers locomotive and tras thai would stop torque through a tough a four wheeler Part of manual clutch KLTs is tow towpHcmat HAZEIMS SS Sinclair Ave 8779473