A Saskatchewan workers’ compensation appeal tribunal has ordered that all claim costs from Nov. 22, 2021, be charged to the Second Injury and Re-Employment Reserve, overturning a partial cost-relief decision and finding that a tertiary treatment program — not a pre-existing condition — prolonged a worker’s recovery.
The Board Appeal Tribunal for the Workers’ Compensation Board of Saskatchewan issued its decision on March 6, 2026, accepting the employer’s appeal from a Feb. 21, 2023, ruling by the WCB appeals department that had granted only 50 per cent cost relief for a defined period.
Background
The worker sustained bilateral shoulder injuries on Jan. 14, 2021, while performing job duties. Medical imaging confirmed a full-thickness tear of the left supraspinatus tendon and a full-thickness tear of the right biceps tendon. The WCB accepted both injuries in April 2021.
The worker underwent left shoulder surgery on Aug. 13, 2021, followed by physiotherapy. By November 2021, the treating physiotherapist had developed a graduated return-to-work plan set to begin Nov. 16, 2021. However, a workplace incident unrelated to the WCB claim resulted in the employer placing the worker on an administrative leave, preventing the return-to-work plan from proceeding.
The WCB operations department reinstated full wage-loss benefits effective Nov. 22, 2021. The worker was enrolled in a tertiary treatment program the same day and was formally discharged on Feb. 11, 2022, meeting pre-injury work demands with no restrictions.
Cost-relief history
The employer representative argued that the worker’s extensive injuries were unlikely without significant pre-existing degenerative conditions and sought cost relief on that basis. The WCB operations department denied any relief in February 2022, finding no evidence of a pre-existing condition or delayed recovery.
On appeal, the WCB appeals department found no pre-existing condition but acknowledged that the return-to-work program had been interrupted by the non-compensable leave. It granted 50 per cent cost relief on wage-loss benefits for the period of Nov. 22, 2021, to Jan. 28, 2022. The employer representative appealed that decision to the tribunal, contending the relief was insufficient and that degenerative changes in the worker’s shoulders constituted a pre-existing condition that warranted greater relief.
Medical evidence
In December 2025, the tribunal referred the file to the WCB orthopedic medical consultant for review. The consultant found that the worker had no prior shoulder complaints and that a general practitioner confirmed no pre-injury concerns.
The consultant acknowledged that some changes observed in the worker’s shoulders were likely degenerative in origin — including the circumferential labral tear in the left shoulder that was surgically debrided, and a labral tear in the right shoulder that did not require surgery. However, the consultant determined that these changes did not prolong the worker’s recovery. According to the Official Disability Guidelines, the expected return-to-manual-work timeframe for a supraspinatus tear is 70 to 90 days, and the worker was ready to return to work on a graduated basis within that window.
The consultant also noted that the tertiary treatment program itself prolonged the worker’s recovery time, with discharge occurring on Feb. 11, 2022.
Tribunal’s findings
The tribunal found no basis for cost relief under the WCB’s pre-existing condition policy, concluding that while degenerative changes were present, they did not delay the worker’s recovery from the work injury or the surgical repair. “These changes, however, have not prolonged the recovery based on the worker’s ability to begin a gradual return to work within the recovery timeframe,” the tribunal noted, citing the consultant’s review.
The tribunal accepted that the worker was ready to return to work on a part-time basis on Nov. 16, 2021, and that the tertiary treatment program — entered in lieu of a return to work because the employer had placed the worker on leave — extended the claims costs beyond what the work injury alone required.
Relying on s. 145 of The Workers’ Compensation Act, 2013, which authorizes the board to provide cost relief where claim costs would unfairly burden an employer, the tribunal found that charging the employer for costs incurred after the worker’s admission to the treatment program on Nov. 22, 2021, would be inequitable.
The tribunal ordered that 100 per cent of costs effective Nov. 22, 2021, be charged to the Second Injury and Re-Employment Reserve.
For more information, see 26-0087-24 (Re), 2026 SKWCBAT 324 (CanLII).
