Coquitlam man Giorgio Cima hasn91裸聊视频檛 once been interviewed by , yet his claim for workers' compensation was rejected in a case his lawyer described as 91裸聊视频渙utrageous.91裸聊视频�
Fort Nelson resident Bruce Erskine remains hobbled by a forklift accident more than eight years ago, but his WorkSafeBC claim remains unresolved.
These two cases have prompted the NDP91裸聊视频檚 WorkSafeBC critic, , to call for a review of the organization.
Simpson was reacting to two recent B.C. Supreme Court decisions that found the decisions by the 91裸聊视频� the independent body that hears appeals of WorkSafeBC rulings91裸聊视频攚ere 91裸聊视频減atently unreasonable91裸聊视频� in denying the claims made by Cima and Erskine.
91裸聊视频淭he system is far too litigious,91裸聊视频� Simpson said. 91裸聊视频淭his can go on for years91裸聊视频f you91裸聊视频檙e dealing with corporation to corporation, that91裸聊视频檚 one thing91裸聊视频ut when you91裸聊视频檙e talking about individuals and their families and they91裸聊视频檙e worried about their income and families, it91裸聊视频檚 got to work a different way."
, who represented Cima pro bono, said he believes many people with genuine workplace injuries that merit compensation, simply throw their hands up and walk away because they can91裸聊视频檛 afford to hire a lawyer or pay for medical experts to back their claim.
91裸聊视频淚f they don91裸聊视频檛 have a mental condition before they enter the system, they surely do shortly thereafter,91裸聊视频� he said.
TOXIC WORKPLACE
Antibiotics were flowing into the vein in Giorgio Cima91裸聊视频檚 right arm at a clinic in downtown Vancouver when his lawyer phoned to deliver some good news.
It was Wednesday, May 25, and the and set aside a decision by the Workers91裸聊视频� Compensation Appeal Tribunal that rejected his claim.
91裸聊视频淔inally, someone believed in me,91裸聊视频� Cima wrote in an email to Black Press about the decision. He said it brought tears to his eyes and some hope to his family.
His supervisor at Delta91裸聊视频檚 Intact Distributors had been bullying him, Cima claims, specifically after an illness robbed him of his speech in 2012 and he began to communicate with e-mail and text messages. (Cima was previously diagnosed with the fatal neurological disease ALS, or Lou Gehrig91裸聊视频檚 Disease, but is now undergoing treatment for Lyme disease, whose symptoms mimic ALS.)
The situation came to a dramatic head on Christmas Day in 2013.
As he sat down for dinner with family and friends, he received a shocking text message from his boss, who called him a 91裸聊视频渞etard91裸聊视频� and a 91裸聊视频渃rayon-eating motherf**ker.91裸聊视频�
WorkSafeBC denied his claim for compensation, and when he appealed, the tribunal said in its ruling that the supervisor didn91裸聊视频檛 intend to 91裸聊视频渋ntimidate, humiliate or degrade91裸聊视频� Cima.
He has been reflecting since the court set aside that ruling, and is hopeful he91裸聊视频檒l soon get better news about his claim.
91裸聊视频淚 was shocked to find that an organization that should be there for workers is in fact more for the employer,91裸聊视频� wrote Cima, who has worked in Canada for more than 25 years. 91裸聊视频淭he fact that they didn91裸聊视频檛 interview me or contact me to this date supports that.91裸聊视频�
Anderson said he agreed to represent Cima because it was 91裸聊视频渙ne of the most outrageous91裸聊视频� cases he91裸聊视频檇 ever come across.
91裸聊视频淚f his case didn91裸聊视频檛 meet the standard for workplace bullying and harassment, there is no standard,91裸聊视频� he said.
INJURY, FIGHT TAKE TOLL
On the same day Cima was sitting inside that downtown Vancouver clinic,
But Bruce Erskine, 63, didn91裸聊视频檛 view his win as good news.
Back in 2008, he was run over by a forklift driven by his boss at Skinner Bros. Transport in Fort Nelson.
91裸聊视频淚 thought he cut me in half,91裸聊视频� Erskine recalled of the forklift knocking him to the ground and its tire crushing his left foot as his leg was pulled under the counterweight.
WorkSafeBC denied his claim for compensation, he said, because a doctor chalked his injury up to soreness from pushing an ATV weeks earlier and not the forklift after an initial X-ray suggested his foot was merely strained.
But eight months later, Erskine91裸聊视频檚 foot still hadn91裸聊视频檛 healed.
It wasn91裸聊视频檛 until 2014, four specialists later, that a different type of X-ray revealed an injury that another doctor attributed to the forklift accident.
He appealed to the tribunal, but the body refused to admit the new medical evidence, saying Erskine was not credible.
In May, the court ordered the tribunal to take a second look, saying that line of reasoning was 91裸聊视频減atently unreasonable.91裸聊视频�
But the judge didn91裸聊视频檛 bring him any closer to his goal of getting WorkSafeBC to review how its staff handled his case and revoke their credentials.
The words of a WorkSafeBC claim manager many years ago infuriate him to this day.
91裸聊视频淗e told me on the phone, 91裸聊视频業f we had to look after people like you, we would be bankrupt overnight,'91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭hey think they can walk over and step on people.91裸聊视频�
WORKSAFEBC SAYS SYSTEM WORKS
Scott McCloy, spokesperson for WorkSafeBC, said he was unable to comment on the two cases, noting that both legal matters are ongoing.
WorkSafeBC and its staff 91裸聊视频渨ork hard to get decisions right the first time,91裸聊视频� he said, and both the appeal tribunal and B.C. Supreme Court are in place 91裸聊视频渢o ensure justice can be done.91裸聊视频�
McCloy denied that WorkSafeBC is an adversarial system, and said it91裸聊视频檚 actually an 91裸聊视频渋nquiry-based system.91裸聊视频�
He said sometimes facts are obvious, but in some cases 91裸聊视频渋ssues are highly complex. Often people try to make them simple, but they91裸聊视频檙e not.91裸聊视频�
