Worker entitled to full loss-of-earnings benefits after recovering from finger amputation
An employer's attempt to cut off benefits for a worker recovering from a workplace amputation has failed, with an Ontario tribunal ruling the employer had no grounds to reduce payments during a planned shutdown period.
In a decision dated July 14, 2026, vice-chair S. Hodis of the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT) dismissed the employer's appeal, finding the worker was entitled to full loss-of-earnings benefits from Dec. 13, 2024 to Jan. 15, 2025, when the worker recovered from a finger amputation and could not perform modified duties.
The worker suffered a distal amputation of the left middle finger on Nov. 27, 2024. A same-day medical report found the worker unable to perform any work for seven days, and a functional abilities form completed by the worker's doctor the next day restricted him from using his left hand at all until Jan. 15, 2025, with additional limits on lifting, driving and repetitive movement that extended to the right arm as well.
The employer's submissions to the tribunal focused only on the worker's left hand, but Hodis noted the functional abilities form actually restricted the right hand too. A follow-up letter from the worker's doctor on Jan. 9, 2025 described cardinal signs of infection and a related tendon condition and gave no indication the worker's restrictions had eased.
An occupational...
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