www.ecao.org 28 T Teksmed ECAO Member Benefits Expanded NEW AGREEMENT WITH TEKSMED COVERS MEMBERS’ OFFICE EMPLOYEES IN ADDITION TO THEIR IBEW EMPLOYEES TeksMed is a proud Affiliate Partner of the ECAO, offering a complete WSIB claims management solution to all ECAO members at no extra cost. TeksMed's services include: return to work management, legal representation, expedited health, CAD-7 rebate/surcharge forecasting, ARO and WSIAT appeals, as well as in-person representation. Teksmed has provided three recently completed case studies below, to demonstrate the cost savings to ECAO Contractor Members. Case Study 1 – Return To Work Intervention An employee twisted his left knee when he slid on mud walking from his car to the site trailer. The employee sought medical attention and started missing time the same day. An offer of modified duties was made by the contractor, but the employee declined to return to work. TeksMed challenged the potential Loss of Earning costs, as it was felt that the modified duties being offered were both safe and suitable for him to return to. The WSIB acknowledgedTeksMed’s request and denied the employee’s request for Loss of Earning benefits, noting that the duties were safe and suitable and posed no harm to his injury. The employee appealed the decision to the ARO (Appeals Resolution Officer) and TeksMed participated. Based on the evidence and submissions made, the ARO upheld the previous decision to deny Loss of Earning benefits. As a result of TeksMed’s early intervention, TeksMed has prevented 27 days of Loss of Earning benefits from being charged to the ECAO member’s account. This amounts to a total estimated savings of $8,303.04, which will not impact the ECAO member’s CAD-7, as well as eliminating having a lost time frequency on their safety record. Case Study 3 – Re-Employment Obligation Challenged An employee stated his left knee started hurting him when he got up from a kneeling position. The ECAO member then laid off the employee as they were unable to accommodate him due to the nature of his injury and the nature of the job site.The claim was forwarded to the Re-Employment branch of the WSIB to determine if the employer was in breach of their Re-Employment Obligation. The WSIB confirmed that if the employer was to be found in breach of the Re-Employment Obligation that a fine of $106,317.63 would be levied against the ECAO member. TeksMed gathered all evidence and made submissions to the WSIB supporting that the ECAO member was unable to return the worker to work due to the nature of his injury and the nature of the job site. TeksMed was successful and the WSIB found the ECAO member not to be in breach of their Re-Employment Obligation, saving $106,317.63 in fines. Case Study 5 – Historical Claim Review TeksMed was asked by an ECAO member for assistance with a high cost claim that had happened three years prior and had already been resolved. In efforts to decrease the costs of the claim,TeksMed submitted a formal request to the WSIB requesting a review of Second Injury and Enhancement Fund (SIEF) be completed. In a decision letter the WSIB acknowledged TeksMed’s request and granted 50 per cent SIEF on the claim, resulting in a total estimated savings of $80,583.11, which was credited back to the ECAO member’s account.