In an unusual case, a construction site superintendent has won entitlement to workers compensation benefits after persuading an appeals tribunal that he was assaulted by his employer’s health and safety officer and was not an active participant in the altercation.
The worker testified that on the day in question, as he entered a construction site office he was asked by the health and safety officer why he had stopped trades people from throwing garbage from the third floor. He replied that he had been asked by the employer to move the garbage container to another location, at which time the health and safety officer said he had no authority to do that and got so upset that he grabbed him and threw him to the ground. The worker sought treatment and was diagnosed with ligament strain. The health and safety officer was dismissed shortly thereafter.
The worker applied for WSIB benefits, but the employer opposed the request. The WSIB assigned an investigator who found that the worker was an active participant in the altercation. The WSIB case manager denied him entitlement to WSIB benefits.
The employer did not participate in the worker’s appeal to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal. The WSIAT looked at earlier statements given by the worker, the health and safety officer and the employer. The WSIAT determined that the worker was not the aggressor, and that the health and safety officer’s statement was “less than credible” because he did not even acknowledge that he had grabbed the worker and thrown him to the ground. The fact that the worker pushed the health and safety officer away did not make him a participant in a fight; instead, it was a normal act of self-defence.
Interestingly, the WSIAT noted that there was no evidence that the worker had a history of being physically violent, while there was evidence that the health and safety officer was involved in at least one prior physical altercation.
WSIAT Decision No. 2140/14 (2014 ONWSIAT 2760)
