Former CBRM firefighter wins years-long WCB appeal, but still waiting for benefits

A former Cape Breton Regional Municipality firefighter has yet to see a dime four months after winning a long-running battle with the Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia over injuries received on the job.

The chief executive officer of the board admits the agency hasn't met its service standards in Jordan MacDonald's case but she can't say when he'll get paid.

MacDonald, 37, suffered a mild concussion when he hit his head in 2018, but his return to work was often marred by difficulties with co-workers and regional fire service management.

According to a ruling in March by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Tribunal, MacDonald also suffered from post-traumatic stress, possibly due to a toxic work environment, but likely as a result of responding to traumatic fires and accident scenes.

MacDonald said the difficulties he's faced over the last six years are probably a result of all of the above.

"I think there were multiple failures within multiple systems," he said in an interview in his Sydney, N.S., home. "I'm not even sure how to start to try to find who went wrong and where. It's a shorter task to try to find out what went right."

MacDonald said his fight started in 2018 when he hit his head during a false-alarm call.

Another fire call came in and a safety officer cleared MacDonald to go.

"My memory of that whole evening is pretty blurry," he said. "I remember just a flashlight being shone in my eyes … and I remember hearing, 'Is your head split open?' and there was just a big welt, a big lump on my head. But no bleeding at that time, so off you go."

At the next scene, MacDonald and a colleague went into the basement of a burning house, but he got turned around and his gear got burned, so he went back out.

"I started to stagger around, world spinning kind of stuff. The next thing I was throwing up in the street. I was then taken to the regional hospital by ambulance."

MacDonald said he was sent off alone and no one called to check up on him.

After being diagnosed with a mild concussion and receiving treatment, he was released from hospital but had to get a taxi chit from a nurse to make his way back to the station for his personal effects.

He then drove himself home.

"I felt very much abandoned that day and in a number of different ways," MacDonald said.

After his return to work, he had ongoing difficulties with co-workers and managers, including what he called the supply of damaged or outdated equipment, and bullying and harassment.

MacDonald said he has a severe peanut allergy, but some colleagues kept peanut snacks in their lockers — despite signs saying it was a peanut-free environment — and officials continued to use peanut butter to bait rodent traps around the station.

'Literally … a toxic environment'

"I once had a safety officer put that in front of my face while I was eating supper and tell me to hold my breath … so that very much creates literally, for me at least, a toxic environment, which I can't stay in."

MacDonald was eventually diagnosed with PTSD, but according to the appeals tribunal decision, doctors and WCB caseworkers couldn't agree on whether it was caused by the head injury or the workplace.

An independent report in 2018 found CBRM's fire department labour relations were toxic, saying a survey found "virtually all non-management members … complained about harassment and bullying by management."

At the same time, the firefighters' union voted to express non-confidence in management.

MacDonald said that's part of what he had to fight.

"There's been a lot of missteps along the way, through WCB, the employer, the union. It has been a very unsupportive process."

CBRM has been through two fire chiefs since 2018.

The current chief, Mark Bettens, said he couldn't comment on MacDonald's case because he had no knowledge of it.

Bettens was a member of the department in 2018 but had been seconded to work in the mayor's office until late 2020.

He said relations are much better now between management and the union.

Donnie Whalen, president of Local 2779 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said he couldn't comment on MacDonald's case for privacy reasons, but he said the union did support its member during his appeals with the WCB and with a long-term disability claim from the employer.

Whalen also said union-management relations are better now.

Karen Adams, CEO of the Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia, said the WCB failed to meet its service standards after MacDonald's appeal decision in March.

"We have disappointed Jordan, in this case. It should not take us that long to get back to him and get benefits paid when a clear decision has been made," she said.

WCB 'can do a better job'

However, the CEO said she couldn't comment on the specifics of MacDonald's case for privacy reasons and couldn't say when he would receive his benefits.

Adams said the WCB is now publishing its service standards on its website and is tracking its efforts to meet them.

She said they are on target about 80 per cent of the time.

"I think WCB overall can do a better job, a quicker job, of making quick decisions," Adams said.

"But when we get it wrong, we take responsibility and I can tell you that we are committed to doing better."

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