P A R T C D e c i s i o n u n d e r A p p e a l T h e d e c i s i o n u n d e r a p p e a l i s t h e r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e S o c i a l I n n o v a t i o n ( " t h e m i n i s t r y " ) d a t e d O c t o b e r 1 , 2 a s a p e r s o n w i t h p e r s i s t e n t m u l t i p l e b a r r i e r s ( P P M B c r i t e r i a u n d e r S e c t i o n 2 o f t h e E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s 2 ( 4 ) ( a ) ( i i ) w a s n o t m e t b e c a u s e t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p h y s d u r a t i o n o f t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s c o n d i t i o n i s 2 y e a r s o r m T h e m i n i s t r y d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t m e t S e c a s s i s t a n c e f o r a t l e a s t 1 2 m o n t h s o f t h e p r e c e d i n g 1 t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t s c o r e d 1 2 o n t h e e m p l o y a b i l i t y s c r e q u i r e d 1 5 u n d e r S e c t i o n 2 ( 3 ) a n d w a s s u b s e q u e n a p p e l l a n t h a s m e t S e c t i o n 2 ( 4 ) ( b ) a s i t h a s b e e n e s p r e c l u d e s t h e a p p e l l a n t f r o m s e a r c h i n g f o r , a c c e p t i n t i m e . P A R T D R e l e v a n t L e g i s l a t i o n E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e R e g u l a t i o n ( E A R ) , S e c EAA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P E A L # I c i s i o n b y t h e M i n i s t r y o f S o c i a l D e v e l o p m e n t a n d 0 1 4 w h i c h h e l d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d o e s n o t q u a l i f y ) t o e m p l o y m e n t b e c a u s e h e d i d n o t m e e t a l l t h e i s t a n c e R e g u l a t i o n ( E A R ) . I n p a r t i c u l a r S e c t i o n i c i a n h a s n o t c o n f i r m e d t h a t t h e e x p e c t e d o r e . t i o n 2 ( 2 ) a s h e h a s b e e n a r e c i p i e n t o f i n c o m e 5 c a l e n d a r m o n t h s . A l s o , t h e m i n i s t r y d e t e r m i n e d r e e n a s s e t o u t i n S c h e d u l e E , n o t m e e t i n g t h e t l y a s s e s s e d u n d e r S e c t i o n 2 ( 4 ) o f t h e E A R . T h e t a b l i s h e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s m e d i c a l c o n d i t i o n g o r c o n t i n u i n g i n a l l t y p e s o f e m p l o y m e n t a t t h i s t i o n 2 .
PART E -Sum mary of Fac ts The ministry was not in attendance at the hearin g. hearing proce eded under section 86(b ) of the Emplo The evidence before the ministry at the t i me of recons • a 2 page letter from the appellant's neurologist dated January 20, 2014 • a Medical Repor t -Persons With Persisten t Multiple Barrie the ministry on J uly 2 4, 2014; • an Employ a bi lity Screen with a Tot a l Score o • a ministry Emplo yme nt Checklist for PP MB dated September 2, 2014 which indicated that a medical prac titioner has confirmed that the expecte years or more; and • the appellant's Request For Reconsideration dated Septembe I n the M edical Repo rt, t he physi cian repor t ed that th ru pt u red L5-S1 d isc a nd s ciatic a w ith an on set of Ma indicated. Und e r t re at ment/ r emedial appr oache s that hav fut ure are n oted as epid u ral injections ("slight improvement") and thre to contempla t e o t her mo dalities. T he stated cond ition e xpect ed dur ati o n les s t han 2 y ears. Furth e r n ot e d which would greatly i nc r eas e r ecov ery. T he me dical condition ep isode s o c cur daily. In resp onse to how f r eq ue n tly r es tricti o n s spe c if ic to the repor t ed m edical c ondition, In the letter from the a ppel lan t' s neur olo g i st, it is repor o the appellan t's ch i ef co mpl ain t is l o w back p approx imatel y 1 an d ½ y ears; o the app ellant di d perfo r m p h y siot her apy he ha d a s u b st an t i al imp rov ement s in o his pain i n t e rfer es with his s leeping and he has t a sk; o he do es not have any pain or numbness in his legs; his back pain is worse standing and he develops worsening discomfort with prolonged sitting; o rest tends to help his symptoms; o his l umbar ran g e of motion was slow, lateral bending and rotation without any evidence of instability; o his medications are Lyrica and Naprosyn; o t he app e llant gained 20 lbs. i n last yea o the appellant was able to heel, toe and tandem walk; and o the appellan t may benefit from lum b a recommended the appellan t work on reconditioning his core. In the appellant's Request for Reconsideration, he writes that that he has been off work since October 2 0 1 2 and h as ch ron i c ba c k pain. H e s t ates th EAAT 003(10/06/01) I APP E AL # After confirming that the ministry was notified, the y ment and Assistance R e g ulation . ider a tion in cluded: r s ( P PMB) page 1 of 2 receive d b y f 12; d duration of t he appellant ' s conditio n is 2 r 17, 2014 . e ap pel lant's prim ary medic al c on d ition is a y 2 01 2 . N o se condary medic al co ndition is e bee n t ri ed to dat e o r a r e expected i n th e e consults w ith the neurol og i st has exi st e d for 2 y ears a nd 2 months wit h t he is th a t the appell ant c anno t a ffo rd ph y siother apy is n ot e piso dic in na t ure an d th e the y are like l y to recur is not ed "uns u re" . U n der the p hysi cia n wrote l i fting, pull in g a nd pushing. t e d th at: a in an d w e akne ss in his l o w b ack fo r and has h ad 3 p ain i nje c tions but do es not fe el c e th e l as t visit ; d iffic u lty performing an y typ e of physical stiff and uncomfortable with flexion , ext ension, r because of inactivity; r decomp r ession such as an inve rsion table and at his bac k go e s into severe sp a sm s when
p i c k i n g u p h i s i n f a n t s o n w h o w e i g h s 1 5 l b s . H e s t a h o u r s a t a t i m e . L y i n g d o w n i s h i s o n l y c o n s t a n t r e l i O n a p p e a l t h e a p p e l l a n t s u b m i t t e d p a g e 1 o f a 2 p a w h i c h r e p o r t e d t h a t : o t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s c h i e f c o m p l a i n t i s l o w e r b a c k a c c i d e n t o n M a y 2 0 , 2 0 1 2 ; o t h e a p p e l l a n t c o n t i n u e d t o w o r k w i t h l o w b a c b e g a n a 6 w e e k p h y s i o t h e r a p y p r o g r a m ; o h e r e t u r n e d t o w o r k a f t e r t h e p h y s i o t h e r a p y p n o t c o n t i n u e t o w o r k d u e t o d i s c o m f o r t ; o t h e a p p e l l a n t c o n t i n u e d t o p e r f o r m s o m e e x e o i n F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 h e s t a r t e d t o d e v e l o p r i g h t o h e c u r r e n t l y c o m p l a i n s o f l o w b a c k p a i n m o s b u t t o c k a n d t h e n d o w n t h e l e g t o t h e b a c k o f o h e d e s c r i b e s t h e p a i n a s s h a r p a n d s t a b b i n g o h e f e e l s l e s s d i s c o m f o r t w h e n l y i n g d o w n ; o h e c o n t i n u e s t o e x e r c i s e ; a n d o t h e a p p e l l a n t d o e s n o t t a k e a n y m e d i c a t i o n s T h e a p p e l l a n t t e s t i f i e d t h a t h i s i n j u r y o c c u r r e d o n M w o u l d h a v e a p p l i e d f o r P P M B w i t h h i s o r i g i n a l p h y s h e h a s s u f f e r e d s i n c e t h a t t i m e w i t h l o w b a c k p a i n w r e s u l t e d i n n o c h a n g e t o h i s d o c t o r ' s o p i n i o n . T h e a c o n d i t i o n i n g a n d g o e s w h e n h e c a n a f f o r d t o t h e l o c i n d i c a t e d t h a t h e t a k e s m u s c l e r e l a x a n t s t o g e t t h r o A d m i s s i b i l i t y o f N e w I n f o r m a t i o n T h e n e w i n f o r m a t i o n t h e a p p e l l a n t p r o v i d e d p r i o r t o o f h i s w o r k r e l a t e d a c c i d e n t p r o v i d e d a d d i t i o n a l d e t f o r m . A c c o r d i n g l y , t h e p a n e l h a s a d m i t t e d t h i s n e w r e c o r d s t h a t w e r e b e f o r e t h e m i n i s t r y a t t h e t i m e o f o f t h e E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e A c t . EAA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )� A P P E A L # t e s t h a t h e c a n n o t s t a n d o r s i t f o r m o r e t h a n 1 -2 e f o f p a i n . g e l e t t e r f r o m h i s n e u r o l o g i s t d a t e d J u n e 4 , 2 0 1 3 . p a i n a n d r i g h t l e g p a i n f r o m a w o r k r e l a t e d k d i s c o m f o r t u n t i l J u n e 1 8 , 2 0 1 2 a f t e r w h i c h h e r o g r a m u n t i l O c t 2 2 , 2 0 1 2 a t w h i c h t i m e h e c o u l d r c i s e s f o r d i s c o m f o r t ; l e g p a i n i n a d d i t i o n t o h i s l o w b a c k p a i n ; t l y r i g h t s i d e d h i p w i t h r a d i a t i n g d i s c o m f o r t i n h i s t h e k n e e ; i n n a t u r e a n d i s w o r s e w i t h s i t t i n g a n d w a l k i n g ; . a y 2 0 , 2 0 1 2 a n d t h a t h a d h e k n o w n t h e s y s t e m h e i c i a n ' s d i a g n o s i s o n J u n e 4 , 2 0 1 2 . H e s t a t e d t h a t h i c h h a s c o n t i n u e d d a i l y a n d h i s l a t e s t M R I h a s p p e l l a n t i n d i c a t e d t h a t h e c o n t i n u e s w i t h c o r e a l p o o l w h e r e h e d o e s l i g h t e x e r c i s e s . H e u g h t h e d a y . t h e h e a r i n g r e g a r d i n g t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s a n d d a t e a i l c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e o r i g i n a l P P M B a p p l i c a t i o n i n f o r m a t i o n a s b e i n g i n s u p p o r t o f i n f o r m a t i o n a n d r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n , i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h S e c t i o n 2 2 ( 4 )
P A R T F R e a s o n s f o r P a n e l D e c i s i o n T h e i s s u e u n d e r a p p e a l i s t h e r e a s o n a b l e n e s s o f t h t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d o e s n o t q u a l i f y a s a p e r s o n w i t h b e c a u s e h e d i d n o t m e e t a l l t h e c r i t e r i a u n d e r S e c t i R e g u l a t i o n . I n p a rt i c u l a r S e c t i o n 2 ( 4 ) ( a ) ( i i ) w a s n o t c o n f i r m e d t h a t t h e e x p e c t e d d u r a t i o n o f t h e a p p e l l a T h e m i n i s t r y d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t m e t S e c a s s i s t a n c e f o r a t l e a s t 1 2 m o n t h s o f t h e p r e c e d i n g 1 t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t s c o r e d 1 2 o n t h e e m p l o y a b i l i t y s c r e q u i r e d 1 5 u n d e r S e c t i o n 2 ( 3 ) a n d w a s s u b s e q u e n a p p e l l a n t h a s m e t S e c t i o n 2 ( 4 ) ( b ) a s i t h a s b e e n e s p r e c l u d e s t h e a p p e l l a n t f r o m s e a r c h i n g f o r , a c c e p t i n t i m e . R e l e v a n t L e g i s l a t i o n P e r s o n s w h o h a v e P e r s i s t e n t M u l t i p l e B a r r i e r s t o e m p l o y 2 ( 1 ) T o q u a l i f y a s a p e r s o n w h o h a s p e r s i s t e n t m u l t i p l e b r e q u i r e m e n t s s e t o u t i n ( a ) s u b s e c t i o n ( 2 ) , a n d ( b ) s u b s e c t ( 2 ) T h e p e r s o n h a s b e e n a r e c i p i e n t f o r a t l e a s t 1 2 o f t h e i m o r e o f t h e f o l l o w i n g : ( a ) i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e o r h a r d s h i p a h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e o r a y o u t h a l l o w a n c e u n d e r a f o r m e r B e n e f i t s P r o g r a m A c t , o r ( d ) d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e o r h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e u n d e r t h e D i s a b i l i t i e s A c t . ( 3 ) T h e f o l l o w i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s a p p l y ( a ) t h e m i n i s t e r ( i ) h e m p l o y a b i l i t y s c r e e n s e t o u t i n S c h e d u l e E , a n d ( i i ) b a s e d t h a t t h e p e r s o n h a s b a r r i e r s t h a t s e r i o u s l y i m p e d e t h e p e e m p l o y m e n t , ( b ) t h e p e r s o n h a s a m e d i c a l c o n d i t i o n , o t h e p r a c t i t i o n e r a n d t h a t , ( i ) i n t h e o p i n i o n o f t h e m e d i c a l p r a c l i k e l y t o c o n t i n u e f o r a t l e a s t 2 m o r e y e a r s , o r ( 8 ) h a s o c c c o n t i n u e f o r a t l e a s t 2 m o r e y e a r s , a n d ( i i ) i n t h e o p i n i o n o p e r s o n ' s a b i l i t y t o s e a r c h f o r , a c c e p t o r c o n t i n u e i n e m p l o m i n i s t e r c o n s i d e r s r e a s o n a b l e f o r t h e p e r s o n t o o v e r c o m ( 4 ) T h e p e r s o n h a s a m e d i c a l c o n d i t i o n , o t h e r t h a n a n a d d t h a t , ( a ) i n t h e o p i n i o n o f t h e m e d i c a l p r a c t i t i o n e r , ( i ) h a s c a t l e a s t 2 m o r e y e a r s , o r ( i i ) h a s o c c u r r e d f r e q u e n t l y i n t h y e a r s , a n d ( b ) i n t h e o p i n i o n o f t h e m i n i s t e r , i s a b a r r i e r t h o r c o n t i n u i n g i n e m p l o y m e n t . ( 8 . C . R e g . 2 6 3 / 2 0 0 2 ) I n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e l e g i s l a t i o n t o q u a l i f y a s a P P o u t i n S e c t i o n 2 , s u b s e c t i o n ( 2 ) a n d s u b s e c t i o n ( 3 ) s u b s e c t i o n ( 4 ) ( a ) , h a v e b e e n m e t . M i n i s t ry ' s P o s i t i o n T h e m i n i s t r y ' s p o s i t i o n i s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p h y s i c o f h i s c o n d i t i o n i s 2 y e a r s o r m o r e ; t h e r e f o r e , t h e a p s e t o u t i n t h e E A R , s u b s e c t i o n 2 ( 4 ) ( a ) ( i i ) . E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P F A I # I e m i n i s t r y ' s r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n w h i c h h e l d p e r s i s t e n t m u l t i p l e b a r r i e r s t o e m p l o y m e n t o n 2 o f t h e E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e m e t b e c a u s e t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p h y s i c i a n h a s n o t n t ' s c o n d i t i o n i s 2 y e a r s o r m o r e . t i o n 2 ( 2 ) a s h e h a s b e e n a r e c i p i e n t o f i n c o m e 5 c a l e n d a r m o n t h s . A l s o , t h e m i n i s t r y d e t e r m i n e d r e e n a s s e t o u t i n S c h e d u l e E , n o t m e e t i n g t h e t l y a s s e s s e d u n d e r S e c t i o n 2 ( 4 ) o f t h e E A R . T h e t a b l i s h e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s m e d i c a l c o n d i t i o n g o r c o n t i n u i n g i n a l l t y p e s o f e m p l o y m e n t a t t h i s m e n t a r r i e r s t o e m p l o y m e n t , a p e r s o n m u s t m e e t t h e i o n ( 3 ) o r ( 4 ) . m m e d i a t e l y p r e c e d i n g 1 5 c a l e n d a r m o n t h s o f o n e o r s s i s t a n c e u n d e r t h e A c t , ( b ) i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e , A c t , ( c ) a d i s a b i l i t y a l l o w a n c e u n d e r t h e D i s a b i l i t y E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e f o r P e r s o n s w i t h a s d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e p e r s o n s c o r e s a t l e a s t 1 5 o n t h e o n t h e r e s u l t o f t h a t e m p l o y a b i l i t y s c r e e n , c o n s i d e r s r s o n ' s a b i l i t y t o s e a r c h f o r , a c c e p t o r c o n t i n u e i n r t h a n a n a d d i c t i o n , t h a t i s c o n f i r m e d b y a m e d i c a l t i t i o n e r ( A ) h a s c o n t i n u e d f o r a t l e a s t o n e y e a r a n d i s u r r e d f r e q u e n t l y i n t h e p a s t y e a r a n d i s l i k e l y t o f t h e m i n i s t e r , i s a b a r r i e r t h a t s e r i o u s l y i m p e d e s t h e y m e n t , a n d ( c ) t h e p e r s o n h a s t a k e n a l l s t e p s t h a t t h e e t h e b a r r i e r s r e f e r r e d t o i n p a r a g r a p h ( a ) . i c t i o n , t h a t i s c o n f i r m e d b y a m e d i c a l p r a c t i t i o n e r a n d o n t i n u e d f o r a t l e a s t 1 y e a r a n d i s l i k e l y t o c o n t i n u e f o r e p a s t y e a r a n d i s l i k e l y t o c o n t i n u e f o r a t l e a s t 2 m o r e a t p r e c l u d e s t h e p e r s o n f r o m s e a r c h i n g f o r , a c c e p t i n g M B t h e a p p e l l a n t m u s t m e e t t h e a l l t h e c r i t e r i a s e t o r ( 4 ) . T h e c r i t e r i a i n S e c t i o n 2 , s u b s e c t i o n 2 , a n d i a n h a s n o t c o n f i r m e d t h a t t h e e x p e c t e d d u r a t i o n p e l l a n t d o e s n o t m e e t t h e e l i g i b i l i t y r e q u i r e m e n t
App ellant's Position The appellant's position is that his injury occurred on M system he w o ul d have applied fo r P PMB with h i s orig stated th at he h a s suffered s ince that ti me w i t h low back pai MRI has resulted in no change to hi s do ct o r's opinion. w ork s i nce October 22, 2 012 an d cont i n ues to have daily c cou l d t ake an o t h er 2 years to get better. Thi s is a total of almost 4 years Panel's Findings Th e p anel notes that in the ap pellant's Med ical Rep med ical condition is a ruptured LS-S1 d isc and sciatic medical co n di t i on is indi cated. The phy sician indi cates e pi sodic in nat ure and t he epi sodes occu r daily. In re the ph ys ic i an not es "un s ure". U nder restric t ions spec physici a n wrote l ift in g, pull i ng and p u s hing. Afte r review ing t h e P PM B M e dic al Repo rt a n d the n ap pe llan t's phy sician an d neur ologi st confirm th at the pa in M a y 2012 a n d t ha t on J u ly 24, 2 0 14, t he a pp e llant medical c onditi on is less tha n 2 y e a rs; whe r eas, the le medi ca l practiti oner, the app ellant's m ed i c a l c o nd ition is likely Addition a l ly , t he panel fi n ds that whil e the m inis t ry has w hi ch re qu ire s that in t h e op in io n of t he medi ca l practitio occu rred f r eq uently i n t he pas t year and is l ikel y to contin 2( 4 )( a )( i) wh ic h requ i re s that t h e app e llan t 's me d ical condition li kely to continue fo r at leas t 2 m ore y ears is mo r e ap pr actiti one r indi cated th at the ap pellant's medic al cond however t hat th e mi nist ry reasonably determi ned th dated July 24 , 201 4 i ndic ated that th e duration of t h years which is a re q uiremen t u nder both 2(4)(a)(i) an Hav ing reviewed and considered a l l of the e vidence the mi n i stry reasonably determined that the evidence does not co ndition is likely to continue for at least 2 more years and therefore the criterion under section 2(4)( a) of the EA R was not met and he does not qualify as a person with persistent multiple barriers to em p loyment. The pa nel confirms the reconsideration decision. EAAT 003(10/06/01) APPEAL# : ay 20, 2 0 12 and that had h e known the in al physician's diagnosis on Jun e 4, 2012. He n which has continued daily and his latest T he appeJlant argues th a t he has been off hr o nic back pa in an d his doctor has said it . ort P PMB dated July 24, 2014, the p rimary a with an onset of May 2012. No secon dary that the appel lant's medical condition i s no t sp onse to h o w frequ ent l y they are l i ke ly to r e cur i fic t o the rep o rted medic a l co ndit ion, t he euro logist 's rep orts, the pa nel finds that the ti e nt's p rima ry m edical con dition's onset was 's physician indicat e d that the pr o gnosis o f his gis l a tion r equires that in t he o pi n i o n o f a t o continue f or at least 2 more y e a rs . r efe r red to the E AR, s ubsection 2 (4)(a )(ii ) ner , the ap pel lant 's m edical c o nd iti on has u e f o r a t least 2 mo re y ears , su b se c tion has c ontinu ed for at least 1 year a nd i s plicable i n t h e c ircum stances as the medic al ition is n ot epis odic in n ature. Th e pa n e l f i nds at th e app el lant's prognos i s by h i s p h y si c i an e a pp ellan t's me d ical cond i ti on i s less t h an 2 d (ii) . and the rel evant legislation, the panel f in ds that estab lish that t he a ppellant's medical
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