Case Summary : Delay

Delay Decision

A worker called the Commission with a complaint about persistent delays in getting a decision from the WSIB. He stated that for four months he regularly wrote to the Claims Adjudicator to ask about the status of his claim, but did not get a response either in writing or by telephone. Two weeks prior to contacting the Commission, he telephoned the Manager to try to resolve the delay problem but he had not heard back.

The Commission contacted the Manager, who agreed to look into the delay issue. The Manager confirmed that the worker’s concerns were valid and undertook to:

1. Arrange a conference call with the worker to acknowledge and apologize for the delay, and to clarify what issues needed to be resolved.
2. Follow up the telephone call with a letter so there was no confusion about what was discussed and agreed upon in the call.
3. Confirm the action plan for resolving any outstanding issues.
4. Monitor the progress of the claim to ensure that agreed upon actions were completed in a timely fashion.

As the WSIB acknowledged the delay, apologized to the worker and took immediate actions to remedy the situation, the Commission concluded that it was not necessary to investigate the complaint further. The worker was invited to contact the Commission again if an unreasonable delay occurred in the future.

(2005)