- June 11, 2021
- Miscellaneous
This decision of the Tribunal concerns a claim made by a stand- in actress to the Workers Compensation Board operating as WorkSafeBC for an eye irritation and sinusitis she attributed to exposure to fog/haze/smoke exposure on set. The Appeal Tribunal considered whether a claim for sinusitis should be accepted as an occupational disease. The appeal was a rehearing in which the appeal tribunal reviewed the file, submissions and medical evidence.
The worker’s complaint attributed her symptoms to thick atmospheric smoke at minimal ventilation for 12 to 15 hours a day over a number of weeks while filming a specific show. She indicated that her eyes felt scratchy, she had ongoing sinusitis, stuffiness, inflammation, swollen lymph nodes, a red face, tightness in the ears and an infection in her sinuses and eyes which started the first month on the show and gradually increased.
The Appeal Tribunal reviewed the worker’s medical evidence and determined that the worker did not have sinusitis at the time she commenced work. The medical evidence disclosed mild and intermittent tendency towards sinusitis. The Appeal Tribunal decided this was not a pre-existing condition but part of the worker’s makeup that she is more prone to sinusitis than the average worker. The Appeal Tribunal described this as a “pre-existing predilection for sinusitis”. Tort law principles applied, and the worker was described as “thin skulled”. The Employer could not avoid liability by taking the position that the action would not have injured a “normal person”. The Appeal Tribunal determined that the worker’s sinusitis was due to the nature of her employment and should be accepted the Board.
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