The Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) of Saskatchewan has decided that a long-time member of the Estevan Police Service (EPS), suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), should receive benefits – a reversal of a previous WCB decision.
In a ruling issued on Sept. 23, the WCB said that Const. Jay Pierson, who has been on leave since 2017 and diagnosed with PTSD by multiple doctors, is entitled to benefits, more than three years after his case first appeared before the WCB.
The 28-page decision also came four months after the Court of Queen’s Bench ruled that Pierson should receive benefits.
The Court of Queen’s Bench ruling, handed down in May by Judge Richard Elson, noted that much of the argument was based on the WCB tribunal’s consideration, or lack of consideration, to a presumption set out in a recently-enacted provision of the Workers’ Compensation Act that states – unless the contrary is proven – if a worker is exposed to a traumatic event, is diagnosed with a psychological injury by a psychiatrist or a psychologist, the injury is presumed to be one that arose out of and in the course of the worker’s employment.
In Elson’s report, it noted numerous instances that Pierson responded to tragic circumstances in his job.
In reversing their previous decision, the WCB said Pierson meets all of the criteria because he was exposed to traumatic events in the course of his employment and he was diagnosed with a psychological injury by multiple individuals. The Workers Compensation Act states the contrary must be proven to rebut the presumption.
In its previous decision, the board appeals tribunal had accepted the appeal of the employer, the Estevan board of police commissioners, as they said the employer had provided compelling evidence as to an alternative cause for Pierson’s condition.
The board appeal tribunal directs operations to arrange a mental health assessment for Pierson to determine the best course of treatment for his symptoms. Operations will also be asked to review the claim for cost relief in due course.
Pierson’s claim began upon receipt of an employer’s report of injury from the EPS on March 16, 2017. Since that time, the WCB has flip-flopped on Pierson’s case, with numerous appeals and decisions. The WCB appeals officer approved Pierson’s claim in October 2017, but that decision was reversed by the WCB in November 2018.
From there, Pierson appealed to the Court of Queen’s Bench, which led to the case returning to the WCB for a rehearing.
On May 26, after Elson’s report was handed down, Estevan Police Chief Paul Ladouceur sent a letter that stated while the Estevan board of police commissioners respects the ruling of the court in this matter, they disagreed with some of the findings, and noted Pierson was facing disciplinary matters.
The police board, along with the chief of police, strongly supports the new legislation relating to “presumption for emergency services personnel,” however, with any new benefit comes the potential for abuse in certain circumstances. They say they have previously submitted ample evidence to support that this is the case in this situation, claiming there were issues with his work as a criminal investigator that spanned eight years from 2009-2017.
Ladouceur said they followed the appeal process within the legislation.
“I realize that some may feel that it’s inappropriate for the service to follow that process, but in essence the process is there for a reason, and if there is concern to be had, some of it comes around that process, too,” said Ladouceur.
He’s not sure if there would be further appeals on this front.
Casey Ward, the president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers, told the Mercury that the federation took on the case because they thought Pierson was wrongly targeted.
“We also thought that the presumptive legislation, at the time, was actually being interpreted wrong by WCB,” said Ward.
WCB has had a hard time adjudicating PTSD cases, he said, but this time they got it right, and they have made what he called “really good changes so it won’t happen again.”
Ward hopes that this is the end of the appeals involving this case.
“He was confirmed to have PTSD, and the chief felt that he knew more than the doctors, and that he (Pierson) didn’t, and was actually fighting this,” said Ward.
With the Regina Police Service, where Ward is a member, if there is a PTSD claim, the in-house legal council will fight the case for the officer. The employer should be backing and trying to help the employee.
“What are we doing to help this member? At the end of the day, we have a member who is still struggling, and nothing really has been done to happen. I’m happy that Jay won, but I’m not happy because he struggles in silence for four years, and I’m also frustrated that we work across Canada and across the province to reduce the stigma of mental health.”
He’s worried that members of the Estevan Police Service struggling with mental health might not want to come forward, because they don’t think their employer will want to get them help following Pierson’s experiences.
Ladouceur said the EPS can’t comment on whether other members of the EPS have come forward with PTSD, due to the size of the police service and the risk of identifying that person. But he did say they have had people who have needed to take a leave in the past 3 1/2 years, for physical and mental health reasons, and the EPS has supported those members.
