Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker, I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Erasmus on October 8th, with respect to claims rejected by the WCB.
I apologize, this is a fairly lengthy reply, Mr. Speaker. The number of claims denied, or rejected by the WCB in 1995 was 124. With regard to the appeal process there are two levels of appeal. The first level is the Review Committee which carries out documentary reviews of claims and revenue decisions. The Review Committee usually holds it's review within 35 working days of receiving the request for review.
The Appeals Tribunal is the final level of appeal. It consists of a member of the board of directors as chairperson, it has two members represent the workers' and two members representative of employers. The Tribunal sits in hearing panels of three, comprising of the chairperson, or acting chairperson, and one member from each representative worker/employer group. The Appeals Tribunal can only hear appeals of decisions reached by the Review Committee. It holds oral hearings or documentary hearings.
Delays can occur from either the Tribunal or the appellant; for example, the Tribunal may require additional information, or the appellant, may not be ready to proceed. On average the last 30 completed cases have taken 188 calendar days each, from the date the appeal was received, or reactivated, to the date the decision was reached. There are no time limitations in which the appellant must file a review of an appeal.
At the end of 1996 the Appeal Tribunal had 21 appeals to be heard. Whether or not an injured worker would receive some allowance from the Workers' Compensation Board while their appeal is in the process would depend on the issue being appealed if the claim had been denied then no benefits would be paid to the appellant while going through the appeal process.
If it was determined by either the Review Committee or the Appeal Tribunal that the claim should have been accepted then it is possible that benefits would be issued retroactively. In the event that an injured worker was receiving a pension, but was appealing the percentage of their pension award, or another issue on the claim then they would continue to receive the monthly pension while going through the appeal process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.