BOD decision: Activity-related soft tissue disorders (ASTDs) of the limbs
On April 25, 2025, WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors approved changes to policy to provide greater clarity and to consolidate guidance on the issue of whether the ASTD is due to the nature of the worker’s employment, for ASTDs adjudicated as an occupational disease. The proposed amendments also clarify the relationship between the legislation’s requirement that the ASTD is due to the nature of the worker’s employment, and the separate requirement that the ASTD be recognized as an occupational disease.
These amendments are informed by recommendations #36 and #37 in Paul Petrie’s Restoring the Balance: A Worker-Centred Approach to Workers’ Compensation Policy, as well as recommendations regarding work causation for ASTDs from Janet Patterson’s New Directions: Report of the WCB Review 2019.
The amended policies apply to all decisions, including appellate decisions, made on or after July 14, 2025.
You can also review the complete Resolution.