Precedent Panel Decisions by Date

The full decisions (in PDF format) can be viewed by clicking on the decision numbers. You can also search precendent panel decisions on the Search Our Decisions page by use of the "precedent" classification checkbox. The summaries are listed in the order of the date of the decision with the most recent decisions at the top of the list.

WCAT-2007-04002
A WCAT precedent panel reconsidered their prior precedent panel decision, WCAT-2005-03622-RB dated July 8, 2005, concerning the payment of interest on retroactive compensation benefits as ordered by the British Columbia Supreme Court on judicial review. (The B.C. Supreme Court decision has since been quashed by the B.C. Court of Appeal in Johnson v. Workers' Compensation Board, 2008 BCCA 232. The B.C. Court of Appeal referred the matter back to the B.C. Supreme Court for consideration of the issues in the petition that remain to be determined. The B.C. Supreme Court in Johnson v. British Columbia (Workers' Compensation Board), 2009 BCSC 877 heard the matter again and ordered that Item #2 of Resolution 2001/10/15-03 of the Board of Directors, which sets out the blatant error test for interest entitlement, was patently unreasonable.)

WCAT-2005-06624
WCAT precedent panel decision. A precedent panel was assigned to determine whether, in applying policy items #75 and #76 of the Permanent Disability Evaluation Schedule (the Schedule) in the Rehabilitation Services and Claims Manual, Volume II (RSCM II) concerning the lumbar spine, WCAT has broad jurisdiction to consider the worker's appeal based on the maximum of 24% (the global range interpretation), or limited jurisdiction to consider only the portion of the award pertaining to loss of flexion for which a range in excess of 5% is provided (the local range interpretation). The panel concluded that the global range interpretation is correct because it best fits with item #39.10 of the Rehabilitation Services and Claims Manual, Volume I, the wording in the Schedule, sections 23(1) and 23(2) of the Workers Compensation Act, the reasoning expressed by the core reviewer, the statements of the Minister regarding the intent of section 239(2)(c), and section 8 of the Interpretation Act. The local range interpretation would unduly restrict appeal rights. The panel found that the global range interpretation applies to items #75 and #76 of the Schedule contained in RSCM II.

WCAT-2005-03622
New policy item #50.00 of the Rehabilitation Services and Claims Manual, Volumes I and II applies to all initial interest decisions on or after November 1, 2001. The term “all decisions” in the Resolution means all initial interest decisions. The policy does not apply to an appellate decision unless the policy applied to the interest decision being appealed. (July 12/05)