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Injured on Class A Duty - Compensation and Benefits

Brasidas

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Class A reservist; initial injury on class A, reinjury on class B, subsequent surgery while on class A with full-time civilian employment.

I was a bit blindsided by what my timeline was going to be for surgery from a service-related injury, and I have now been laid off on disability from my civilian job. A large component of that is that I was told, point-blank I needed to take two weeks off, another that I'd have to be on modified duties for four months and rehab going up to 10 months. With my job and the size of the company, that wasn't going to work.

I've learned that I'm entitled to at least some form of reserve force compensation. The annex A is with the surgeon. There's been some paperwork lost, but there's at least a clear CF98 and witness statements to show service-related injury. So far, two weeks seems guaranteed, but I've lost my job because I wasn't going to be able to perform my duties for four months (according to physio), so I'm not sure what the standard is there. When the surgeon considers me fit to perform the tasks from a description of tasks from my former job?

Meanwhile, there's EI disability. I need to get my RoE, but I apparently qualify for up to 15 weeks through that.

Given that I don't know what I'm going to get through RFC, and I might not know for sure until later in my recovery, should I be putting in an EI claim ASAP and just inform their office when I'm getting benefits from the army? Currently laid up healing and not looking forward to lineups at service canada if there's no point.

 
I'm no expert on the subject and have merely scratched the surf of this can of worms.

As far as I understand it, RFC is only applicable to personnel employed on and injured/attributable during periods of "Class C" service.  You may have a claims for "SISIP-LTD", which applies to Res F personnel without having to pay any premiums as they are employer covered.

Your best bet and which I highly recommend.  Pay a visit to your local JPSU coordinator.  They may have better answers in your case and be more knowledgeable in such matters.
 
RFC is payable for class A or B service.  It's CBI 210.72
210.72 - Compensation for Disability - Reserve Force

210.72(1) (Definition) The definitions in this paragraph apply in this instruction:

active participation
means that the member can or has returned to paid Reserve service, inclusive of Vocational Rehabilitation, that is outside the scope of the medical treatment plan perscribed for the period of injury, disease or illness identified at paragraph (2) to this instruction.
attributable to military service
means the injury, disease or illness must have arisen out of or be directly connected with military service. This meaning shall also be used when considering the aggravation of an existing injury, disease or illness.
Example

(A) While most injuries that occur while on duty are attributable to military service, the one does not necessarily follow the other. For instance, if a member was injured while on duty as a direct result of improper conduct, it should not be considered attributable to military service:

Disobedience of a lawful command
Negligent operation of personal or CF equipment
Brawling
Substance abuse.
(B) On the other hand, an injury might occur while not on duty but the circumstances make it attributable. For instance, if a member suffered an injury, disease or illness while not on duty but as a result of the dangerous condition of military quarters, it could be considered attributable to service. Other examples include:

Fire
Gallery explosion
Gas leak
Slippery walk ways at CF facilities (e.g., ice on walkways, grease on cafeteria floor)
Structural failure (e.g., faulty wooden steps, ceiling)
General safety violations (stacked filing cabnets, chairs, tables, etc.)
210.72(2) (Entitlement) Subject to paragraphs (7), (8), (9) and (10), an officer or non-commissioned member of the Reserve Force who, while on Class A, B or C Reserve Service, suffers any injury, disease or illness which is attributable to military service and this injury, disease or illness continues beyond the period of service during which it occured, is entitled:

while the member remains in hospital, an amount equivalent to the rate of pay established for the member's rank for the class of Reserve Service the member was serving at the time the member suffered the injury, disease or illness; and
while the member continues to receive treatment but does not remain in hospital, to compensatin as provided in subparagraph (a) and, where applicable, an amount equivalent to Separation Expense at the rate determined in CBI 209.997 (Separation Expense), except that the amount equivalent to Separation Expense is not payable for any period during which the member actually resides with their family.
for such period as the Minister may decide, but that period shal not extend beyond the date of release or the date on which treatment for the injury, disease, or illness is completed, thus enabling the member to resume active participation with the Reserve Force or to resume the occupation the member held at the time the injury, disease or illness occured or to seek civilian employment, whichever occurs first.

210.72(3) (Injury, Disease or Illness not attributable to military service) Subject to paragraphs (7), (8), (9) and (10), an officer or non-commissioned member of the Reserve Force who, while on Class A, B or C Reserve Service, suffers any injury, diesease or illness not attributable to military service and not as a result of the member's misconduct or imprudence, is entitled:

until the termination of the member's period of service or until the date the member is returned home, whichever first occurs, to pay and allowances, payable by the employing unit, at the rates and under the conditions prescribed for the member's rank in the CBI; and
after the termination of the member's period of service and while the member's condition does not permit the member to be sent home, and where quarters and rations are not provided, to an amount equivalent to the applicable rate of Separation Expense established in CBI 209.997 (Separation Expense).
210.72(4) (Deemed Class A Service) Subject to paragraphs (7), (8), (9) and (10), an officer or non-commissioned member of the Reserve Force who suffers any injury, disease or illness while participating in a Commanding Officer approved CF Exercise Prescription (Expres), or Land Forces Command Physical Fitness Standard (LFCPFS) prescribed activity, as part of an authorized fitness program, is deemed to be on Class A Reserve Service for the sole purpose of compensation under this instruction.

210.72(5) (Pay Advance) Subject to paragraph (7) and to the prior approval of the officer commanding the command, an officer or non-commissioned member of the Reserve Force may, on the recommendation of the commanding officer, be provided with an immediate advance up to a limit of one month's pay each month.

210.72(6) (Recovery of advance) Any payment or advance made under paragraph (5) shall be recovered in whole or in part if the Minister decides that the compensation during the period of injury, disease or illness is not warranted or is warranted for such lesser period as the Minister deems appropriate.

210.72(7) (Limit) No payment of compensation during a period of injury, disease or illness shall be made under paragraph (5) for any period in excess of three months without the prior approval of the Minister.

210.72(8) (Cessation of compensation) Compensation during a period of injury, disease or illness is not payable nor shall any relatd advance be made from the date the officer or non-commissioned member:

is released from the Canadian Forces; or
refuses to accept reasonably prescribed medical treatment.
210.72(9) (Treatment Complete) Compensation during a period of injury, disease, or illness is no longer payable effective the date on which treatment for the injury, disease or illness is complete and it is determined by a competent medical authority that the officer or non-commissioned member is capable of:

resuming active participation in the Reserve Force;
resuming the occupation the member held at the time the injury, disease or illness occurred; or
seeking gainful civilian employment if the member was not so employed at the time the injury, disease or illness occurred.
210.72(10) (Full-time student) When the officer or non-commissioned member is a full-time student who, while receiving treatment as an out-patient, has resumed attendance at an educational institution, no payment of compensation during a period of injury, disease or illness or related advance shall be made for the period of attendance at the institution without the prior approval of the Minister. Subject to paragraphs (8) and (9), compensation for the student will be considered:

when there is a loss of income from part-time employment (for example, loss of pay from scheduled unit parade nights, week-end training and part-time civilian employment that the member would have reasonably pursued while going to school); or
when additional and reasonable expenses are incurred by the member to attend the educational institution or place where the medical treatment is given (for example, extra traveling expenses from their residence to their school or place of treatment or cost of extra lessons to catch up).
210.72(11) (Limitations) For the purpose of the restriction imposed by CBI 204.516 (Limitation of Pay), the period of treatment under paragraph (2) or (3) does not count as days of training.

210.72(12) (Return to Work Program) Compensation during a period of injury, disease or illness for any officer or non-commissioned member to whom this instruction applies, shall be reduced by the amount of the income earned from participation in the CF Return to Work program (ADM(HR-MIL) Instruction 05/03) as part of a medical treatment plan as prescribed by a competent medical authority.

210.72(13) (Special Duty Area / Special Duty Operation) Subject to paragraph (8), where an officer or non-commissioned member is serving on a period of Class C service in an Special Duty Area (SDA) / Special Duty Operation (SDO) and suffers an injury, disease or illness while on that service, an extension of that service may be authorized, in three month increments to a maximum of twenty-four months, or until such time as the member:

is declared medically fit by competent medical authority;
resumes active participation in the Reserve Force;
resumes civilian employment held prior to going on Special Duty Area (SDA) / Special Duty Operation (SDO); or
who was a full-time student prior to deployment, is able to resume attendance at an educational institution.
210.72(14) (Government Employees Compensation Act) Where an officer or non-commissioned member is in receipt of compensation benefits for an injury, disease or illness under the Government Employees Compensation Act, compensation during a period of injury, disease or illness under this instruction shall not be granted for the same injury, disease or illness.

There's also GECA - see http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/g-5/FullText.html
 
I have just gone through the RFC, the system works when you engage it and use it.
Follow the ref dapaterson provided and folllow-up on DAA's advice in speaking with your JPSU.
You may not be entitled to everything, but any assistance is a benefit.
 
Tried to find any info in regards to this but, came up dry.  I recently injured myself (Fractured ankle) on course. I'm unable to return to my full time (civilian) job due to the nature of the injury and what I do. Now there is debate in my unit as to who covers what etc. I'm not too worried about who or how the reserve pay is covered. I am, however, concerned as to who is responsible to cover my time off from my civilian job.  Would it be VAC? My STD from my civilian employer or would it be WSIB (Someone at the unit mentioned this but, I didn't think WSIB was available to us). Any help with some sort of firm direction would be fantastic because I'm getting tired of chasing false or misinforming leads.
 
Get a hold of these guys. They're supposed to be able to help you sort this out.

IPSC London

Mailing Address:
IPSC London
Wolseley Barracks
701 Oxford Street East
London ON N5Y 4T7
Telephone:
519-660-5275

Unit Contacts:

    Platoon Commander
        Captain J. Robbins
            ext 5633
    Platoon Warrant
        Warrant Officer C. Graham
            ext 5140
    Chief Clerk
        Corporal R. Thomas
            ext 5332
    Services Manager
        Ms. Joanne Brumwell
            5091
    Outreach/Return to Work/Casualty Tracking Co-ord
        Vacant
            ext 5195

With respect to orders and regulations:

Compensation and Benefit Instructions (CBI) 210.72,
Defence Administrative Orders and Directives (DAOD) 5018-2,
Canadian Forces Administrative Orders (CFAO) 24-6
 
This may help too http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-9.8/page-1.html
 
aquaholic75 said:
My STD from my civilian employer  < snip >

Do you have a collective agreement?
 
mariomike said:
Do you have a collective agreement?

Thank you for this direction. Didn't even think to look there.  Found nothing in there regarding injuries sustained while employed elsewhere exempting me from coverage. Should be good to go with my employer's STD.
 
aquaholic75 said:
Thank you for this direction. Didn't even think to look there.  Found nothing in there regarding injuries sustained while employed elsewhere exempting me from coverage. Should be good to go with my employer's STD.

Your employer may also have a Modified Duty Program. Where I worked, if you could blink your eyes and wanted to come in, that was OK with them. Didn't matter if the injury occurred on Class A or skiing. They didn't care, and didn't ask.
 
mariomike said:
Your employer may also have a Modified Duty Program. Where I worked, if you could blink your eyes and wanted to come in, that was OK with them. Didn't matter if the injury occurred on Class A or skiing. They didn't care, and didn't ask.
My work does have modified duties but, unfortunately, we already have too many people off on it for me to get in.
 
Reserve Froce Compensation Claim is what you need to submit as per http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/caf-community-benefits-ill-injured-deceased/guide.page:

Reserve Force - Compensation During a Period of Injury, Disease or Illness (RFC)
References
Compensation and Benefit Instructions (CBI) 210.72, Defence Administrative Orders and Directives (DAOD) 5018-2, Canadian Forces Administrative Orders (CFAO) 24-6

Purpose
RFC applies when an injury or illness continues beyond the termination of the Class of Reserve service during which it occurred.

Eligibility
Members of the Reserve Force on Class A, B or C Service who are incapable of performing duty due to an injury, disease or illness attributable to that service are entitled to RFC when the injury or illness continues beyond the termination of the class of Reserve service during which it occurred.

Details
Approval of payment of RFC is based on the confirmation that the member is incapacitated as a result of military service, in accordance with CBI 210.72. The request for compensation is initiated by the member's parent unit by completing the form DND 2398 which is available in the Defence Forms Catalogue. This form, staffed through the chain of command to DCSM, constitutes the required investigation and the application for payment of compensation.

Advances
An Officer Commanding a Command may authorize an advance of RFC for a period not to exceed three months. Advance payment in excess of three months requires the prior approval of Director Casualty Support Management (DCSM). Members should be advised in writing prior to the issuance of any advance RFC that such advances are subject to recovery action if they are not subsequently approved by DCSM.

Additional period of payment
When RFC continues after an initial period of payment, the unit shall forward directly to DCSM the following:

an updated doctor's statement;
an updated member's statement; and
an updated employer's statement (if applicable) with a covering letter/memorandum explaining the request for additional payment.
Termination
RFC is no longer payable once a competent medical authority has established that the member is no longer incapacitated and the member is capable of:
Resuming active participation in the Reserve Force; or
Resuming the occupation held at the time the injury, disease or illness occurred; or
Seeking gainful civilian employment if the member was not so employed at the time the injury, disease or illness occurred.
RFC also ceases:
On the date the member is released from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF);
If the member resumes attendance at an educational institution if a full-time student; or
When, the member unreasonably refuses to accept the medical treatment prescribed.
Subject to Ministerial approval, compensation may be considered:
When a member is a full-time student receiving treatment as an outpatient and has resumed attendance at an educational institution and:
there is a loss of income from part-time employment, either civilian, or military; or
the member has incurred additional and reasonable expenses to attend the educational institution or place where the medical treatment is given.
 
Doing some research. This is for one of my troops.

Class A soldier, participating in PT on his own time- a run. He injured himself on his run and has had to get physio, which he has paid for out of pocket. He is still getting physio. The injury happened about 8 days ago. Fit troop

Tomorrow night we'll be filling out his CF-98. I'm not sure where to go from here. I do note that the CBI for RFC refers to the EXPRES test, not the new FORCE test. I'm not sure if running is essentially by default considered approved PT, or in what form the approved PT has to be documented for it to count.

My thinking is he shouldn't have to pay for his own physio, but I don't know how that would work. I don't know what other compensation there would be or how that would work. I'm still determining how much this has cost him and whether it is impacting his ability to work.

I also need to determine if the appropriate approach is RFC, or if it's GECA- if the latter might cover his physio?

Frankly I'm lost on this one. A steer would be appreciated.

 
Brihard said:
Doing some research. This is for one of my troops.

Class A soldier, participating in PT on his own time- a run. He injured himself on his run and has had to get physio, which he has paid for out of pocket. He is still getting physio. The injury happened about 8 days ago. Fit troop

Tomorrow night we'll be filling out his CF-98. I'm not sure where to go from here. I do note that the CBI for RFC refers to the EXPRES test, not the new FORCE test. I'm not sure if running is essentially by default considered approved PT, or in what form the approved PT has to be documented for it to count.

My thinking is he shouldn't have to pay for his own physio, but I don't know how that would work. I don't know what other compensation there would be or how that would work. I'm still determining how much this has cost him and whether it is impacting his ability to work.

I also need to determine if the appropriate approach is RFC, or if it's GECA- if the latter might cover his physio?

Frankly I'm lost on this one. A steer would be appreciated.

We had a reserve (class-A) sailor out west sailing for a weekend exercise aboard one of our training vessels (ORCA class). The ship was docked in one of the small BC communities for night. The member went ashore for some drinks, and within about 500m from the ship, he stepped in a crack in the pavement and rolled his ankle. He wasn't allowed to keep sailing, and had to be send by land back to the base.

In the end, he received zero compensation whatsoever because he was not on duty when the injury happened, and he's  a Class-A reservist.

I highly doubt the military would consider your soldier going for a run on his own time to considered having been on duty at the time, and therefore he'll get zero compensation from the military.

I'm pretty sure I have all the references to back this up somewhere, as I had build a brief to my CO regarding the sailor I mentioned above.
 
I wouldn't worry about the difference between EXPRES and FORCE, one could argue they are materially the same thing.

The most important part of any Reserve RFC is that there must be a service cause, or service related nexus. Having administered a similar RFC, I can tell you that it may be difficult to substantiate a service related nexus for a Class A member performing fitness on their own time. You will need to be very familiar with CBI 210.72.DAOD 5018-2 covers CF98, but I'm not convinced that a CF98 is applicable in this instance.



 
Lumber said:
We had a reserve (class-A) sailor out west sailing for a weekend exercise aboard one of our training vessels (ORCA class). The ship was docked in one of the small BC communities for night. The member went ashore for some drinks, and within about 500m from the ship, he stepped in a crack in the pavement and rolled his ankle. He wasn't allowed to keep sailing, and had to be send by land back to the base.

In the end, he received zero compensation whatsoever because he was not on duty when the injury happened, and he's  a Class-A reservist.

I highly doubt the military would consider your soldier going for a run on his own time to considered having been on duty at the time, and therefore he'll get zero compensation from the military.

I'm pretty sure I have all the references to back this up somewhere, as I had build a brief to my CO regarding the sailor I mentioned above.

Your sailor was drinking. My troop was on PT.

From CBI 210.72 - Reserve Force - Compensaiton during a period of injury, illness, or disease:

"210.72(4) (Deemed Class A Service) Subject to paragraphs (7), (8), (9) and (10), an officer or non-commissioned member of the Reserve Force who suffers any injury, disease or illness while participating in a Commanding Officer approved CF Exercise Prescription (Expres), or Land Forces Command Physical Fitness Standard (LFCPFS) prescribed activity, as part of an authorized fitness program, is deemed to be on Class A Reserve Service for the sole purpose of compensation under this instruction."

I need to figure out how that turns into his physio being paid for, if in fact it's possible.
 
Brihard said:
Class A soldier, participating in PT on his own time- a run. He injured himself on his run and has had to get physio, which he has paid for out of pocket.

This may, or may not, be of interest,

Injured Class A
https://army.ca/forums/threads/118630/post-1360891#msg1360891

Need direction-class A seeking physio 
https://army.ca/forums/threads/103332.0
 
Disregard my question... Got some new info which changes the picture somewhat in a helpful way.
 
I've fought this before for some of my troops. The goal is to make an ironclad link between the injury, and service. The old EXPRESS forms helped, because you could clearly indicate what activities you participated in, in order to stay fit and pass the test. If you were injured doing one of the activities you had listed, it really helped. Our policy in Health Services is that: Reserve Force (Res F) personnel are covered only during specified periods of eligibility based on their duty status and the relatedness of their illness or injury to military service (QR&O 34.07). (see http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/caf-community-health-services-benefits-drug-coverage/coverage-eligibility-management-access.page).

QR&O 34.07 (6) Subject to paragraph (5), a member of the Reserve Force whose need for medical care is attributable to the performance of duty is entitled:
a.for the remaining period of duty to medical care at public expense; and
b.after termination of the period of duty to such medical care at public expense as the attending physician may consider necessary and as authorized by the officer commanding the command.

So, make the link to service - a CF 98 completed which indicates it was PT for the purposes of meeting the FORCE Eval, which is considered duty related. Then have the CO (or RSS O) link in to the BSurg at your supporting clinic, and indicate that the mbr was on duty (PT), suffered an injury due to this service, and is now out of pocket for treatment. They can cover Physio, and objects such as canes, crutches, orthotics. They will not cover massage therapy. They will probably resist at first, many of the BSurg are junior, and do not understand this issue. Some just don't care. If you keep hammering the link to service, you will eventually prevail.

Send me a PM if you need any help on this.
 
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