Court Says No Dice on Injured Worker’s $16 Million Suit against WSIB

After 20 years of fruitless workers’ comp benefits appeals, an injured worker essentially said ‘forget the workers’ comp system’ and sued the WSIB and Appeals Tribunal in civil court, claiming he had been treated unfairly and demanding $16 million in damages. But the court ruled that it had no jurisdiction over the case. Allowing disappointed workers to sue the WCIB would defeat the whole purpose of the workers’ comp system, i.e., ensuring that workers get benefits for work injuries without suing for damages in civil court. The Court of Appeal not only upheld the ruling but ordered the worker to pay $4,500 to cover the WSIB and Tribunal’s legal costs [Taylor v. Workplace Safety & Insurance Board, 2018 ONCA 108 (CanLII), Feb. 6, 2018].