- Firefighter
- Cancer
- Presumptions (firefighter)
- Referral to Board (firefighter) (presumption)
The worker's estate appealed a decision of the Appeals Resolution Officer finding that there was no causal relationship between the worker's death from cancer and his occupational exposure as a firefighter. In Decision No. 919/05I, the Panel made findings of fact and adjourned the hearing to obtain a report from a Tribunal medical assessor.
The Panel accepted the opinion of the Tribunal assessor and found that the lung was the primary site of the worker's cancer. The Panel also found that the worker had worked for 34 years as a firefighter.Section 15.1(4) of the WSIA provides a presumption for workers prescribed under s. 15.1(8)(a) who suffer from a disease prescribed under s. 15.1(8)(d). O. Reg. 253/07, as amended January 1, 2016, now provides that the presumption in s. 15.1(4) of the WSIA applies to primary site lung cancer if the worker has worked as a firefighter for 15 years prior to diagnosis.Section 15.2(1) provides that the section applies where a regulation under s. 15.1 is made or amended and, as a result, a presumption established under s. 15.1 applies to an injury or disease. Section 15.2(5) provides that, if a claim is pending before the Tribunal, the Tribunal shall refer the claim back to the Board, and the Board shall determine the claim in accordance with s. 15.1.The Panel found that the worker became subject to O. Reg. 253/07 as of January 1, 2016. He had primary site lung cancer and met the latency requirement of at least a 15-year work history prior to diagnosis.Pursuant to s. 15.2(5), the Tribunal, as required, referred the claim back to the Board.