Recovering After a Workplace Injury in Manitoba: A Complete Guide

What should I do first after a workplace injury in Manitoba?

Tell your employer, then see a doctor and say the injury happened at work. Report to the WCB any injury that needed medical attention or caused you to miss work.

Your employer cannot pressure or discourage you from reporting an injury, filing a claim or appealing a decision. If that is happening to you, it is worth telling the Worker Advisor Office about it as well as dealing with the claim itself.

How long do I have to appeal a WCB decision in Manitoba?

There is no time limit, except for appeals of administrative penalties. Manitoba is one of only two provinces in the country that works this way.

Review Office decides on the papers rather than by hearing. If you disagree with Review Office and you have information it has not seen before, you can go back to Review Office with a fresh reconsideration request rather than moving straight up.

What is the gate I need to know about?

The Appeal Commission will only consider issues that were previously appealed at the Review Office level. That single sentence catches people out more than any deadline would.

It is worth writing out every decision you disagree with as a list before you send your reconsideration request, rather than dealing with the one that stings most and letting the rest go.

Why does my claim file matter so much here?

Because the Appeal Commission uses your actual WCB claim file. You do not need to submit copies of anything already on it, which sounds convenient and is actually the point. Whatever is not on the file is not in front of the panel.

The WCB will give you one free copy of your claim file through the File Access Coordinator, and you can ask for periodic updates at any time. Further copies are charged for. Get that first copy early rather than at appeal time, because reading it is how you find out what your employer said, what your doctor's reports actually say and what is missing.

If you are working with the Worker Advisor Office they obtain the file themselves once you give written permission, so you do not need to hand them a copy.

What should I be writing down?

Three things, and in Manitoba the emphasis falls on getting them into the file rather than only into your notebook.

• Every symptom you reported and to whom. A symptom you told nobody does not reach the file, and the file is what the panel reads.
• Every decision you disagree with, as a running list. This is what protects you from the Review Office gate.
• Every conversation about your claim or your return to work. Date, who, what was said, who else was there.

Our free Resource Hub has fillable trackers for symptoms, appointments, correspondence and return to work.

What happens at an Appeal Commission hearing?

The party bringing the appeal presents first, including any witnesses, then the other party presents. Hearings can be in person, by phone or by video. If you are bringing a witness you have to submit a Witness List beforehand, and if you want to use information not already on your file it must reach the Commission at least five business days ahead or you need a Request to File Additional Evidence form.

One practical thing worth knowing. If you have to miss work to attend your hearing, you are reimbursed for the wages you actually lose.

Who can help me for free?

The Worker Advisor Office is a Government of Manitoba program, independent of the WCB, and it helps injured workers with appeals at no charge. Reach it at 204-945-5787, or toll free at 1-800-282-8069 extension 5787.

The Appeal Commission publishes its own guidance and its past decisions, which are worth reading if your issue is a common one. The WCB of Manitoba sets out the reconsideration process in Policy 20.10.

The Manitoba Companion Guide

Our Manitoba Workplace Injury Companion Guide carries the board names, forms and appeal routes for this province, with fillable space for the record you build alongside them. Pair it with The Way Back National Recovery Guide.