Carin Pelka
Paralegal
Carin Pelka has been a Paralegal with the Zare Paralegal Services team since 2015, and she has over 40 years of experience in the field of WSIB. Following her retirement from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, she became licensed as a Paralegal in 2008 and has dedicated her second career to advocacy for injured workers.
Nothing gets by Carin with her keen attention to detail, and she uses this skill effectively in achieving results for our clients. She also regularly represents our clients at their hearings at both the WSIB and the WSIAT levels of appeal.
In her spare time, Carin is an avid skier, and enjoys the winter season. She is also musically inclined, having played in a band for 43 years. When she’s not skiing or playing in her band, she loves spending time with her “fur babies”.
Noteworthy Cases
Decision 1020/22
A 50 year old welder developed severe tinnitus due to chronic exposure to noise in the workplace over many years. The WSIB had denied his claim because they concluded they could only accept entitlement for tinnitus in cases where there is an accepted claim for Occupational Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). Because this worker did not have a hearing loss, his claim could not be allowed. In this WSIAT Decision, the Vice-Chair allowed entitlement for the tinnitus, noting that the evidence supported a causal connection between the injury and the noise exposure. Based on the merits and justice provisions in Board policy, the Vice-Chair allowed the appeal.
Decision No. 131/24
A 52 year old aluminum siding installer suffered a serious injury when he fell from a ladder while working on a roof in 2008. As a result of the fall, he suffered multiple injuries, including multiple fractures. He was left with permanent impairments to many parts of his body, including a permanent psychological injury diagnosed as depression. Despite his combined overall whole person impairment totalling 30%, the WSIB had concluded that he was capable of working in an elemental service occupation. The Vice-Chair accepted our arguments that this worker was unemployable as a result of the combined effects of his workplace injuries. She awarded him Full Loss of Earnings benefits to age 65.
Decision 573/24
The worker was injured in 1989. Section 45(1) of the pre-1989 Act provides for a permanent disability award or pension. OPM Document No. 15-04-02, “Psychotraumatic Disability” states that entitlement is granted provided the psychotraumatic disability/impairment became manifest within 5 years of the injury, or within 5 years of the last surgical procedure. The policy also states that entitlement may be established where: “The psychotraumatic disability is shown to be related to extended disablement and to non-medical, socioeconomic factors, the majority of which can be directly and clearly related to the work-related injury.”
In interpreting the five-year policy guideline, Tribunal case law has held that the guideline is not rigidly applied and each case is judged on its own merits; however, there has to be some compelling reason to make an exception to the five-year policy requirement (see Decision No. 618/09). The Vice-Chair also noted that the Tribunal traditionally has treated the “five-year rule” as a guideline, rather than as a “deadline”, or a strict cut-off point (see Decision No. 2392/12).
The Vice-Chair agreed with and applied the analysis of Decision No. 2392/12. Given the references to intractable pain and to life being “barely tolerable” during the five-year period, and the fact that the first recorded prescription for medication to treat depression occurred only five months after the five years had passed, the Vice-Chair found that this was an appropriate case in which the five-year rule should not be applied rigidly.
Based on the medical record, the Vice-Chair determined that the worker’s depression and anxiety were directly related to his extended disablement and to non-medical, socioeconomic factors, the majority of which could be directly and clearly related to the work-related injury. The worker was entitled to benefits under the Psychotraumatic Disability policy. In addition, as his depression and anxiety had persisted to the present time, it was a permanent disability, for which the worker was entitled to a pension.
Decision No. 1717/22
In July 2009, a 56-year-old paramedic, who had dedicated 20 years to her demanding job, reported experiencing severe cumulative mental stress from responding to numerous traumatic incidents. In November 2009, she was granted benefits for cumulative traumatic mental stress, including loss of earnings (LOE) and healthcare benefits. Despite returning to work in August 2009, her condition necessitated a break in November 2009 as recommended by her psychologist. She later resumed modified duties in March 2010.
The situation took a toll again in May 2010 after the worker learned of a friend’s death, leading to a claim of recurrence. Initially denied, the claim was later accepted in September 2018, awarding full LOE benefits from May 30, 2010, to November 30, 2010.
Her employment ended with the employer on November 29, 2012. Since that time, she was unable to sustain any employment, despite the WSIB’s conclusion that she could work as a Records Clerk. The Panel allowed the appeal, granting full LOE benefits to age 65, and denied the employer’s appeal to rescind the LOE benefits previously paid.
More Published Decisions
To read more of Carin Pelka’s published decisions, you can find them here.