- Consequences of injury (secondary condition)
- COVID-19
- Guillain-Barré Syndrome
The worker, a registered nurse, appealed a December 18, 2023, decision denying entitlement for COVID-19 and Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). The oral hearing took place via videoconference in Toronto on April14, 2026, and the decision was issued on June 15, 2026. The employer did not participate.
The Panel allowed the appeal.The worker was regularly exposed to COVID-19 patients in ICU and critical care from March to June 2020, during early pandemic stages with limited PPE and testing. The worker exhibited symptoms consistent with COVID-19 in late April or early May 2020 but was not tested due to restrictive criteria. The Panel found it likely the worker contracted COVID-19 at work, granting initial entitlement to COVID-19 benefits. Negative COVID-19 tests in June 2020 were attributed to testing occurring after the viral load had diminished. The Panel gave significant weight to a physician's opinion explaining the timing of tests and accepted the likelihood of prior infection despite negative results.The worker developed GBS in June 2020, about a month after COVID-19 symptoms. Medical experts confirmed the GBS diagnosis and recognized GBS as a post-infectious condition often following infections like COVID-19. The Panel found GBS was a secondary condition caused by the work-related COVID-19 infection, granting entitlement to benefits for GBS. The worker was in ICU from June 13 to August 10, 2020, intubated and unable to work due to GBS. The Panel granted full LOE benefits for this period and remitted the issue of LOE benefits beyond August 10, 2020, back to the WSIB for determination.