Join me here as I share with you day to day what’s going on in my recovery.

I will share with you here the highs and lows of my journey recovering from my near fatal motor vehicle accident.

Injuries sustained from my accident

• Fractured Larynx
• Adrenal Hemorrhage
• 2 Right Rib Fractures (9th & 11th)
• Pneumothorax (punctured lungs associated with fractured ribs)
• Lacerated Spleen
• Hemothorax (collection of blood within the body in association with the lacerated spleen)
• Transverse Process fractures L1, L2, L4 (These fractures are tiny bones within the spinal column)
• Comminuted Fracture upper Left Humerus bone (upper arm involving the shoulder joint requiring surgery)
• Post Traumatic Stress

To know more about me I invite you to check out my about page.

Below I will share updates on my personal journey.

May 26, 2025

It has been a few months since I have published an update.

On a practical level things seem to be moving forward in a positive way. I hope it continues to be positive in spite of the challenges I continue to experience.

I am still experiencing ongoing PTSD symptoms more than a year after my accident.

The unfortunate reality is, that the system often fails those who are in need. Since WorkSafe is not considering my mental and emotional state and capacity I am being forced into Vocational Rehabilitation. I don’t know if I have the emotional and mental capacity to return to work but I am sure giving it a try.

My employer refused to cooperate with WorkSafe in my return to work program. I am actually fine with that because it is too traumatizing for me to be working in the same environment that almost ended my life. It is also too close to other dynamics with the incessant harassment and bullying I had endured in the Construction Industry. This is too close to the environment that was grossly toxic and certainly not an industry that is capable of dealing effectively with harassment and bullying. If I were treated with equality and equity then I would have received the training necessary to safely fulfill the tasks I was being requested. I would have also had the opportunity to learn the tasks as I was fully capable. There just wasn’t accommodation for me.

There was one incident where I was discriminated against because I am Ukrainian. This Pro-Putin Pro-Russian guy began to tell me what he thought about Ukrainians knowing full well that I am Ukrainian. And then, after spewing hatred rhetoric at me and in my direction he reports me for discriminating against him. My employer sided with him not the real victim in this case of discrimination. I was discriminated against and I lost wages as a result of that discrimination.

So there are multiple levels preventing me from having the emotional and mental capacity in returning to work. I am however, capable of learning and being successful in my studies and having the capacity to learn knew skills. The only question is, will I continue to face discrimination in the workplace or will I be able to make a decent income? I might be too traumatized. My heart races. The tinnitus in my inner ear gets louder. My body begins to shake. And one of these days I will mentally and emotionally snap. Here is the problem with a system that often fails those in need. I am a ticking time bomb. All it takes is the right triggering. Will the professional Psychiatrists understand this?

For now I have enrolled in a program for Accounting Bookkeeping. I might be able to find remote work or be set up with a hybrid remote and in office work environment. I believe it is in everyone’s best interest that I work from home.

I have also started upgrading my high school math so that I can get more comfortable working with numbers. I scored pretty high with attention to details. According to the person that did my assessment, the only setback is in the area of my math skills. Thankfully we have software and AI tools to assist in the tasks for this career.

WorkSafe has also awarded me long term partial disability benefits. They have basically ruled that my injury is permanent and that my range of motion will not improve much beyond where it is. I will be receiving just a little over $500/mo until I am 63yo and from this I will be paying into a Retirement Fund which I will start to collect some time after I turn 63yo.

Recently I have had a couple of visits to the Chiropractor. I dislike getting my neck cranked. I have a tendency to work against the Chiropractor so he waits and lulls me into a false sense of security and then cranks my neck. The guy has got magic fingers and magic hands.

February 14, 2025

Today was my birthday. I have been needing to make boundaries of mine known and somehow communicate them. Yet it is the most challenging because those of whom I love would respond one way. That one way was to shut down the conversation which led to me blocking someone of whom I love dearly. And now, it is what it is because it would seem they just never wanted to understand how their behaviour has been harmful to me and not helpful. I don’t know if not ever talking to this person is the best decision to make. I would much rather be able to communicate these boundaries and have those who say they love me understand enough to be willing to have this needed yet most challenging conversation. I was told I can’t dictate how people act but I can certainly create boundaries to protect myself emotionally and mentally and it is up to them if they love me enough to understand how they hurt me or if they will never understand and never talk to me again.

This is the challenging part of PTSD. When you are so fragile mentally and emotionally and you need for your family and friends to be supportive and not create barriers to healing and recovery.

Hopefully I will be able to gain an official diagnosis of PTSD. Currently I have a Provisional Diagnosis of PTSD and next week will start EMDR Therapy.

My Legal Advocate has agreed to continue to represent me in my fight against Workers Compensation to first acknowledge my Provisional diagnosis of PTSD and agree to send me for an Assessment for PTSD which will more then likely lead towards an official diagnosis of PTSD. It will take at least six months before I hear back from the Review Board. I am also preparing in the event the Review Board were to decline my Appeal. By then I should pay out of pocket for the assessment. Note to self, keep a receipt in the event things eventually are ruled in my favour.

I am not functional at home. I am not functional mentally and emotionally. Few people understand this. I am also on the Autistic Spectrum and find that people don’t have the patience to try to understand me in the first place. Perhaps my lot in life is to just be alone with very little emotional support. My family has been going through so much they can’t be present for me emotionally. I don’t know what my future holds but I am tired of trying to get people to understand how their actions are hurtful and harmful to me and I need to protect myself emotionally and mentally so that I can get through this time. I have enough on my plate that I need people to understand that I can’t deal with being hurt by them. Will they ever understand? I don’t know. Have I tried my best to make it known? I have. It’s hard to do when the conversation is shut down, and this prior to me blocking the person.

The hope is that one day they will understand.

Jan 25, 2025

Last couple of days seemed especially hard for me. Truth is, some of us have to endure experiences that will not ever be understood by others. In many ways this means we walk alone. And we have to accept this reality. I have to accept that I don’t know anyone who can truly know and understand.

Yesterday I had a delivery guy accidentally drop my milk in the hallway of my apartment. I stood there over a puddle of half a gallon of milk and cried.

Today was the first day I sat in a truck since my accident. I got in the truck and I told them this was my first time in a truck since my accident. I asked the driver to take the turns a little easier. What happened was being jostled around inside a truck I had no control over was a very triggering experience for me. And the harder I tried to explain what I was going through the less they wanted to understand and the more they drew their own conclusions. Being triggered I started experiencing intrusive memories. The driver told me I needed to “get over it” the other passengers response was “oh come on” These intrusive memories kept coming. And then it happened…

I stopped breathing. I couldn’t breathe. They were like “breathe, in through your nose” If only they could understand what was happening because the problem here is that every flashback I experience I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe through my mouth let alone my nose. But they don’t understand how I experience PTSD. If they did understand they would have just listened instead of becoming defensive or offering advice that doesn’t help.

I know they meant well. I know they were trying to help. I also know that because they stopped listening to me they were just doing what they thought was best and didn’t even think to ask me what I needed. What a  concept it is to ask the traumatized what they need. I figured at this point I will go and get a medical documentation and record of this incident as it might help me in my Appeal to get assessed for PTSD. My Case Worker has denied me this assessment so I will be Appealing their decision.

I am starting a Pre-Screening PTSD Assessment from a Registered Clinical Counsellor. This whole episode couldn’t have happened at a better time.

I am still left with one question, how can I communicate in such a way that people can  make a better effort to hear me. I know what I experience. I know myself. However, when people don’t believe me it’s hard to win over their respect.

I was asked how I was doing. In response I said, “Doc agrees with my self assessment”

TWO THINGS NOT TO SAY TO SOMEONE EXPERIENCING A PTSD FLASHBACK

1. Breath in through your nose
2. Get over it

HOW NOT TO REACT TO SOMEONE EXPERIENCING A PTSD FLASHBACK:

1. Don’t get defensive
2. Don’t dismiss what is said
3. Don’t talk when you should actually listen

WHAT CAN YOU DO WHEN SOMEONE IS EXPERIENCING A FLASHBACK:

1. Be present
2. Be mindful
3. Take on a posture of listening

I know it is human nature to feel like you need to do something but often the only thing that can be done is to just be present and wait it out. Don’t say nothing. Wait it out.

WHAT IS THE BEST RESPONSE WHEN SOMEONE IS EXPERIENCING A FLASHBACK:

Find out from the person having the flashback what they need. You can’t at the moment. When the flashback is happening the person won’t be able to talk so you might have to do what is uncomfortable. Let them ride it out. Sit with them. And when they come back to the moment and the present then the first thing to ask is “how can I help”

Not once was I asked how they could help me. They made decisions and didn’t include me in them.

I sat with the ER Doc who did listen. Professionals rarely disagree with me. And why is that? Because I know my body, I know my mind. There is always going to be trouble when people stop listening to the one hurting. When something hurts us physically they ask us about our chief complaint. They don’t tell you that it’s nothing. They run tests to rule out things as part of their differential but a significant component of investigating the illness or injury is dependent upon symptoms. The patient tells the Doctor how they are feeling. The Doctor asks questions and then listens. When it comes to mental health it’s the same thing.

One thing I do know is that PTSD is not something you can just get over. It’s a life long and sometimes debilitating mental injury from significant trauma.

Jan 24, 2025

I am about to go to bed listening to Audible. Not sure why it has taken me so long to join Audible.

Earlier today I ordered my groceries from Instacart. I rarely have the energy to shop let alone the big grocery shop for the big items. I would much rather not use Instacart but I don’t qualify for any services that might be offered to help so I have to budget in an Instacart order twice a week.

When the guy came with my groceries I heard this loud explosion. And then a few minutes later I heard a knock at my door. I saw the guy who was also really upset and shaking through the ordeal. He was apologetic and said he would get me a refund. And when he mentioned that I started crying. The poor guy didn’t know what to do or say. I told him briefly my story. I told him I tend to order from Instacart because I just don’t have the energy or strength to do the shopping myself. To top it off I just got off the phone from a neurologist office where I was getting treated for my severe migraines. I was supposed to call them back once my new medical coverage kicked in with my new job. I then got in this accident and spent a year recovering. I told them I was involved in this accident. I’m not sure why they even called me if they weren’t going to accommodate me anyways. Now I’m back to square one with my migraine treatments. This medical system is slowly killing me because the only other medications that help my migraines is when I combine advil and Tylenol at a high dose and because I combine advil and Tylenol for my migraines I have to suffer through other pains like my broken arm. My arm has been in so much pain and agony the last couple of days and I haven’t taken anything to manage the pain. This is when I get frustrated with my chronic pain and fatigue. Things aren’t working out for me the way I need them to. It would be nice to have some relief in pain but I don’t. With all of these things adding up my milk exploding all over the floor in the hallway, I cry. I didn’t just get a little tear drop, no, I ugly cry. I don’t know who the delivery person was but he was a good kind hearted young man. He offered to come back with a replacement milk. We need more people like that young man. I still gave him a glowing review. I told him, it was obviously an accident.

Life can just be… 💩 

Life can just be poopy and their ain’t nothing we can do about it.

Jan 23, 2025

Today I am in significant pain. Physiotherapy has been pushing me and then also helping to find a balance. It’s important to push because the goal is to get as much of my range of motion restored as possible. This means that I am in significant pain the following day. I don’t take any pain medication. I take enough Advil and Tylenol when I get migraines so I am limiting my Advil and Tylenol to only when I have a migraine. This means that I am suffering through this pain with no reprieve.

Jan 20, 2025

I had physiotherapy today. My physiotherapist stretched out my range of motion further. Last few sessions she has been purposefully not telling me how heavy the weights that I’ve been using were. I honestly thought I was lifting 20 lbs. It certainly felt like 20 lbs. Turns out what I thought was 20 lbs was only 2.5 lbs. lol I graduated to 2.5 lbs! Wohoo! I am hurting. It is hurting typing on my computer.

Workers Compensation wants to end covering the cost of physio. Not covering my physio will only create a setback. There is an opportunity to enable my injury to not be so debilitating but it would seem like they would much rather not pay for physio and keep me from making a fuller recovery. They will spend their money sending me for assessments but won’t help my recovery along to benefit me. They are thinking about the money not my health.

I haven’t heard anything from my Vocational Rehabilitation Worker. Perhaps she is waiting for when Worker Compensation stops paying for my physio to then look into retraining for work.

I am also still waiting to find out how much my Pension will be.

I bought a dark roast coffee. A dark roast has less caffeine then medium roast. I still had my 2/3rds regular and 1/3rd decaf mix this morning. I’m not sure what I am feeling is the result of less caffeine or if it is about the change of medication. I am also experiencing nausea which I am told can be a normal symptom when adjusting these medications.

I might have lost a bit of weight because I have been eating much. My jeans are falling down on me. It’s time to buy a new pair of jeans. I was doing an exercise today that involved being on my knees and my pants almost dropped to the floor exposing my backside to everyone lol

Jan 18, 2025

Today I start switching over to decaf coffee. This hurts me but with the amount of heart palpitations that I am experiencing with my heart condition, and seeing as caffeine can have a negative impact on LongQT Syndrome the only responsible choice is to switch to decaf coffee. Only problem is, I am highly addicted to caffeine so I am tapering off gradually by mixing regular and decaf until I can live with decaf coffee. Can I live with just decaf coffee?

I used to smoke cigarettes. I used to drink socially. That is until I could no longer afford cigarettes and buying cartons became more irritating. So I just quit smoking. I was motivated primarily because I wanted to get back into jogging and back to my weight loss goals. Being diagnosed with LongQT Syndrome put a damper on things. I was also placed on antidepressants. I didn’t feel good socially drinking and mixing my medication. I was also experiencing what I now recognize as LongQT symptoms. Since I no longer felt good drinking even one cup of coffee I just stopped drinking socially. I know a few people who took issue with the fact that I was no longer drinking. I don’t understand why people need alcohol to feel good or need alcohol to have a good time. I never got this as I was never a heavy drinker to begin with.

I also became aware of the negative impact that cannabis has on the heart of somebody with LongQT Syndrome. So I quit taking cannabis. I used to micro-dose cannabis for my anxiety and to help me sleep. There is a slight risk of experiencing a life threatening heart arrhythmia when taking cannabis. I am not in a position to risk this.

And now I have started to reduce my caffeine intake. Currently my regular/decaf coffee mix is a third decaf and two thirds regular. I will get my body used to this ratio for some time before I switch to half and half.

Wish me luck!

Jan 17, 2025

Today I went to my sister’s apartment. I picked up a few things. The table I have is too large for my apartment. This table was given to me. I can’t seem to get rid of it but somehow and in some way I will need to. My sister had a Kitchen table, Coffee Table, and a couple Side Tables that come as a Set. They are small and fit perfectly in my apartment. It was odd going through her apartment. It’s a reminder that we take nothing with us when this life is over. We leave behind a lot. We leave behind our possessions. We leave behind the impact we have had in our family. The question remains, how do we want to be remembered?

When I returned this evening from my sisters place I ran into a neighbour of mine. He stopped. And we talked. And just when I was feeling unseen he reached out and said to me if I ever needed any help with anything, like picking up something at the grocery store, to let him know. I don’t know if I will take him up on that offer but just him asking helped my mindset. We underestimate how even offering practical help can help. In that moment, just him asking and offering was all that was needed.

December 29, 2025

I found out that with my ongoing PTSD and LongQT I now qualify for a Service Dog. I will be looking into training up my own Service Dog. This will be a challenge.

How can a puppy not bring you joy 🙂

I will most definitely be sharing about this part of my journey.

December 1, 2024

Shortly after I published an update on my own journey recovering from my accident I was informed that my sister was in hospital. In short, her heart stopped. It was discovered that she had a heart condition called LongQT Syndrome. Her heart went into this arrhythmia called Torsades de Pointes. They resuscitated her but she went too long without oxygen to her brain. She went at least 9 minutes maybe longer without oxygen to her brain which resulted in a brain injury that was not compatible with any quality of life. After three weeks of our sister being on life support we made the decision to take her off life support. She died not long after.

I had already been symptomatic myself with what I now know is LongQT Syndrome. I’ve been dizzy, fatigued, heart palpitations, edema in my lower legs, as well as chest pains. The ER Doctors are quick to say, “well, chest pains aren’t typically associated with LongQT” they were attempting to eliminate LongQT as a possibility. So I had to tell the ER Doctor, “I have LongQT, that is according to my Cardiologist. I also have chest pains. So, if chest pains are not part of LongQT then I have LongQT plus chest pains so I guess we need to figure out why I am having chest pains, no? But don’t dismiss the fact that I have LongQT. All the research I have found states that chest pains can be a symptom of LongQT. So I don’t know. All I know is that I am symptomatic and whatever has happened with my sister has brought on far too much stress for my heart.

The early morning hours when my sisters heart stopped I wasn’t feeling well. I was feeling off. I was up and too stressed to sleep. My brother was up at that hour. So was my other sister and our dad as well. We were all up and we were all not well and all feeling sorta sick.

I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to my sister Kari

Our brother Jeffrey is in the middle. I am on the left, and our sister Kelli is at the top. Our sister Kari is on the right. We were all so young when this pic was taken.

Nov 1, 2024

The trauma I have been through is not understood by those around me. I survived a near fatal motor vehicle accident. I suffered critical and life changing injuries and wish I had more support. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate what support I have been given but I am just saying it is not enough. I am facing a life long disability. I am still going through agonizing pain at physiotherapy. I graduated to 1 lb weights. I am currently fighting with Work Safe to recognize that PTSD was an injury I sustained in this accident. I am not doing well emotionally and mentally. I reached out for help. There was one person who led me to believe they were going to help but then withdrew their help. I needed help but wasn’t able to find the practical help that was needed. She made me believe that she would provide that practical help. Then all of a sudden she tells me that she only helps those who help themselves. I have disabilities. There are things I am not capable of doing because of my disabilities. Where I was asking for help was in the areas that my disabilities prevented me from gaining access to much needed supports. There should be no shame in asking for help. And yet this person shamed me and made me feel like a lesser human being because I couldn’t meet her expectations. My disabilities prevent me from reaching the expectations that others might have.

I will try to do what I need to do but I am fumbling around. I just need direction and guidance. I need advocacy. I need help with communication. I need help with a lot of things as my executive functioning skills are non-existent because of my Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I struggled enough with executive functioning before my accident. After my accident it became worse. I would do more if I could. The phrase “I only help those who help themselves” is often times a phrase to dismiss the need of the one reaching out. It is a phrase of judgement. When I am undergoing such significant trauma from a near fatal motor vehicle accident while suffering critical life changing injuries, that is not the time to say things that are intended to bring judgement, criticize, and humiliate.

People are asking,

What about work?

What about getting another job?

What about getting a Part Time job?

It’s not that easy. First I am restricted to a Return to Work program and if I don’t work with that then I will lose my wage loss benefits which is about half of what I was making before. I would also lose the support I currently have when it comes to my Return to Work program. I have no control over this. I do, but if I take back control then I lose everything including my ability to keep appealing my Case Worker’s decisions. If it were that easy to just pick up the pieces of my shattered life and get back to work. I have lost the use of my left arm significantly. If anyone thinks it is easy then I encourage you to spend a day at work with one hand tied behind your back. Wash yourself, put on your clothes, cook and clean, make your lunch… do it with one hand. Also, do it with significant pain, fatigue, and atrophied muscles because your recovery had you in bed for most the day. When you have critical life changing injuries that you somehow survive, your body needs much of it’s energy going to healing. Consider the injuries listed above and see if just getting a part time job is doable. It’s not doable. It’s not even doable to manage what my case worker is trying to get me to do. So I just can’t go get another job that easy when I don’t have much energy to get myself out of bed.

My Claims file has been transferred to Long Term Disability where I now have a Vocational Rehabilitation Worker. My Vocational Rehabilitation Worker is overseeing my Return to Work program. I will work with my Vocational Rehabilitation Worker. I will also be waiting to find out what my Pension will look like. I will be receiving a life long Pension. As soon as they determine how much that will be. This Pension is going to help significantly.

Aug 24, 2024

My Case Worker had come up with some erroneous to cut me off my benefits for two weeks. This almost left me with a 1o day eviction notice. This has been one reason why I have asking for financial help. With Covid19 forced quarantine because the Health Department feared I might have had a false negative, due to symptoms I was forced into quarantine. This left me without work for two months. Employment Insurance doesn’t give you nearly enough to live on and certainly not enough to cover my entire rent plus food. So I was running in a deficit and struggling to avoid eviction when my accident happened.

Worker’s Compensation is more motivated to save money then they are to ensure the health and safety of workers and will look for any and every reason to not pay anything for the injured worker. When a worker is injured we shouldn’t have to fight against the system. We should have our needs met. Our employer pays for insurance to cover injured workers. More has to be done when it comes to ensuring that the workplace is safe and that rights are not violated. That fact that Workers Compensation Board is inundated with injured workers from the construction industry should tell this organization that regulations and policies need to change. They need to advocate more for the injured worker then to advocate for the employers losses. If Worker’s Compensation Board were able to hold the employer accountable more then the statistics on injured workers would lower and employers would save their money. It is better to be part of prevention then it to be part of compensating for what could have been avoided. In my case, I didn’t receive any training. My employer was not held accountable to following Labour Standards. My employer abdicated their role and responsibility to ensuring their workers were safe. Not only did I not receive the proper training, when there were challenges they refused to make changes with regards to my training. I was then paired up with a lane tech who was new to the company. He was my supervisor. He placed me in a position he never should have. He abdicated his role and responsibility when it came to the safety of me of whom he was supervising. He was incapable of insuring I was safe. There was a lot of things that led to my accident and my employer made the decision to Appeal the Workers Compensation Ruling. So instead of focusing on my healing I had to focus on fighting the system to gain access to the resources that are owed to me.

I have been fighting to gain access to one of Workers Compensations Psychiatrists for a PTSD Assessment. But this fight is a lengthy fight. It is a fight I might not win but if Workers Compensation Board cared about the health and safety of workers they would extend to injured workers what it is they need. Of course, that is maybe a little too idealistic for the Compensation board. I have grievances.

A friend started up a Go Fund Me page.

I took over the Go Fund Me page because this friend had become emotionally and mentally abusive towards me. I attempted to express my boundaries but she took offense to my expressed boundaries and all attempts to help her understand my side fell on deaf ears. Some people have a very difficult time understanding boundaries. For this reason I do have compassion for them. I also need to care for my whole person.

Why is it difficult for some people to understand boundaries and to respect boundaries? That’s all I ask for. I have enough on my plate with my accident and recovery and am less able to handle people who feel justified to violate my boundaries. And so here we are. My mental health has been a real struggle. Between Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety, Autism Spectrum, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms ( We can also include significant Grief & Loss from Late November 2024 with the loss of my sister Kari) … just nothing but tragedy this year.

Some people are offended that I am reaching out for help and financial support. I am single, I live alone. I have had very little support from family and friends and not because they have been refusing to help but because they have not been able to help. And when everyone that you know can’t help or when few can help there is one last option and that is to cast a wider net in the hope that somebody out there might be in a position to help.

I can barely make ends meet with my rent and food. I do sometimes get by. Sometimes this means eating Kraft Dinner for dinner for a couple of weeks as I ration out my food. Sometimes I have received canned goods from my brother and his wife which is where I get all my KD and canned food dinners that I use to ration out. Then sometimes I need some fruits and vegetable. So I do use some of my remaining money towards that.

I started writing this blog because it’s better to reflect on my experiences through this method then to be left alone with my thoughts and feelings which isn’t always based on truth. This is what happens with mental illness. I can either keep my thoughts inside or I can express them and perhaps in the process come to see truth that can be obscured because of mental illness and because of my disability. How do I move beyond this? I don’t know. I don’t know how but what I do know is that I have been struggling to make ends meet because of an accident and because I have the support I have needed. This isn’t to say I haven’t had support. I am thankful for the support I have received but sometimes I need more support.

This support I need is not always a monetary support. Sometimes the support that I need is simply to have somebody acknowledge my existence.

Feb 4, 2024

I was involved in a work related motor vehicle accident. I was new on the job. My employer failed to adequately train me in the position I was given. I was paired by a neglectful supervisor who made decisions that almost ended my life. New workers, are at high risk of on the job injuries and the construction industry is so neglectful that when there is an accident they are quick to hold the injured worker at fault instead of being held accountable to ensure that labour standards and safe work practices are maintained. The lack in this respect enabled this accident that almost ended my life. I am thankful that I survived the accident. I survived but I am faced with life changing injuries and my employer has refused to acknowledge their role in the accident. This is evident even with the memo that was sent out to everyone.

The memo

I trust this email finds you well. Unfortunately, one of our team members had a very serious motor vehicle accident, on Sunday, Feb 4, 2024, leading to hospitalization, but thankfully not in a customers work area. “Owner” visited and reports she is stable, recovering well, and maintaining good spirits. We are thankful the situation wasn’t worse for everyone. We are currently working with RCMP detectives and internal reports to understand and prevent such incidents in the future. During this time, please respect our team member’s privacy and refrain from sharing information publicly.

There is no well wishes for me, the injured worker. Their first thought was to try and manipulate the narrative by saying the accident was not in the customers work area. This was not true. Just because the “customer” was not present that is not to say it wasn’t involving the work area. In Traffic Control, the work area includes the signs leading up to the cone zone. When Lane Tech’s are picking up their signage they are in their working area. My employer stated they were thankful the situation wasn’t worse for everyone. They couldn’t even say they are thankful that my injuries, while critical, we are thankful that our team member will recovery but will face a lengthy recovery. They tried putting me to work but they neglected to stay within the return to work program and when an incident occurred as a result of being pushed out of our agreed upon return to work program my employer tried to make it my fault. The problem is, I don’t have the strength in my arm to hold a paddle, I don’t have the energy to work any labour positions anymore. I am also fighting with Work Safe to get compensation for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They refuse to send me for a PTSD assessment.

My employer appealed Work Safe’s decision. The Review Board made the following Ruling:

Policy item C3-14.10, Serious and Willful Misconduct, provides further guidance and outlines three steps to follow when assessing whether a worker’s actions constitute serious and willful misconduct.

First, I (the Review Officer) must determine whether the worker’s misconduct was serious and wilful. The policy explains that a worker engages in serious and wilful misconduct if the worker deliberately and intentionally violates rules, regulations, or laws known to the worker. Serious and willful misconduct is a voluntary act by a worker with reckless disregard for the worker’s own safety, and which the worker should have recognized as having the potential to result in personal injury. If the worker’s misconduct was serious and willful, the second question is whether the worker’s misconduct was the sole cause of the injury. This means that without the worker’s misconduct, the injury would not have occurred. If the worker’s injury is solely attributable to their serious and wilful misconduct, the worker is not entitled to compensation unless death or serious or permanent disablement resulted from the accident.

HAVING REVIEWED THE EVIDENCE (continues the ruling)…

I am not satisfied that it establishes that the worker was engaged in serious and willful misconduct at the time of the incident. On review, the worker denies that she deliberately and intentionally violated rules, regulations, or traffic laws during the work incident. The worker submits that although the employer is under the impression that she made an illegal U-Turn on the date of the motor vehicle accident, that is not accurate. The worker clarifies that when she first spoke to the Board on Feb 12th, she clearly reported that on Feb 4th she was driving and following behind one of her coworkers/supervisor’s work vehicles. The worker reported that she never made a U-Turn, and only stated that it was her supervisor who had made a U-turn on Feb 4th. According to the worker, when she realized that her supervisor had made an illegal U-turn, she attempted to proceed to an area where she could make a legal left turn, but while attempting to do so, she was struck by another vehicle. On review, the worker also reiterated that on Feb 4th she did not intentionally or deliberately attempt to make an illegal U-turn. According to the worker, she was following her supervisor’s lead, and she was under the impression that her supervisor was driving to make a legal left turn. However, once she realized the supervisor was making an illegal U-turn, she attempted to find a location to make a legal left turn, but she was struck by an oncoming vehicle shortly after. In this case, I accept the worker’s evidence that she never intentionally or deliberately attempted to make an illegal U-Turn while driving on Feb 4th. I find this evidence to be consistent with the evidence contemporaneous to the work incident, including her teleclaim application and her conversation with the Board office on Feb 12. In my view, the evidence does not establish that the worker intended, or even actually performed, an illegal U-turn on Feb 4th, such that her actions would amount to serious or willful misconduct. There is also no dispute that the worker sustained an adrenal hemorrhage, pneumothorax, rib fractures, and left humeral fracture injuries from the motor vehicle incident on Feb 4th. Therefore, I am satisfied that the worker sustained an adrenal hemorrhage, pneumothorax, rib fractures, and left humeral fracture injuries arising out of and in the course of her employment. As a result, I deny the employer’s request. In conclusion, as a result of this review, I, (the Review Officer) confirm the Board’s Feb 14th decision.

Those investigating the accident really didn’t look too much into the possibility of the other driver being distracted and excessively speeding. Point is, we are responsible for safe driving. I can’t prove that the other driver was distracted. All I can point to was the fact that he was going 100-125 kms in a 70-80 km zone and while I had my flashing ambers going he didn’t make any attempt to slow down or avoid the accident until seconds before the accident. You can’t claim that you did not see flashing ambers unless that other driver was distracted and not paying attention. My one mistake was to trust my supervisor and miscalculate the speed the other driver was going. Good thing I was wearing a seat belt. My seat belt saved my life. I almost lost my arm in this accident but advancements within emergency medicine has come a long way. I am thankful I didn’t lose my left arm but it will never be the same.