The sixth and final module, offered within Prevention Link’s core curriculum, is an advanced course that begins by exploring the impact of occupational disease on society and workplaces, the lessons that have been learned and current developments in occupational disease claims.
Participants explore:
- Both the legal test and medical standards for causation, how legal principles apply in an appeal and the significance of apportionment;
- The field of epidemiology including, the different types of studies, how data is analyzed and what to look for when assessing a study;
- Toxicology and other evidence, including:
- how they are gathered;
- what weight is put on them; and
- how to prepare to examine an expert witness.
- The Industrial Disease Panel and the adjudication process with information on how to best ensure a successful adjudication; and
- To further understand this complex subject, a number of occupational diseases are studied with respect to their risk factors, diagnostic testing and how to argue causal links using the WSIA, policies and Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal
- To better understand the process, participants review case files and answer questions in their workbooks to build a case for the worker in their file. These workbook responses will be used to create a written submission on the case file.
- Survivor benefits provided by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) including payment of money, LMR for the spouse, bereavement counselling and burial expenses.
Graduates of this course will have unique skills to enable them to advocate for workers with occupational disease and their survivors.