The Board of Directors approved changes to policy item #1.03 in Volumes I and II of the Rehabilitation Services & Claims Manual. This policy interprets section 35.1(8) of the Workers Compensation Act (“Act”). Section 35.1(8) is one of several transitional provisions setting out how WorkSafeBC must apply major amendments to the Act that came into effect on June 30, 2002. In particular, section 35.1(8) provides that if, on or after June 30, 2002, a worker has a recurrence of a disability that results from an injury that occurred before June 30, 2002, the current provisions of the Act apply.

The policy amendment clarifies that, for the purposes of the transitional provisions, a recurrence of disability does not include a permanent change in the nature and degree of a worker’s permanent disability. Instead, a recurrence includes any claim that is re-opened for an additional period of temporary disability, regardless of whether the worker had been entitled to a permanent disability award before June 30, 2002.

The policy changes took effect on August 1, 2006 and apply to all decisions, including appellate decisions, made on or after October 16, 2002.