YOUR SUPPORT TEAM

WORKING TO WELL STARTS WITH WORKING TOGETHER

You are not alone on your journey to recovery. Your support team is with you every step of the way, helping you get back to the way things were before you were injured.

Your role is to follow the advice of your health care providers, stay connected with your employer and case worker, get better, and when you’re ready, return to work as soon as possible with modified duties if necessary.

YOUR EMPLOYER

If an injury happens at work, your employer will ensure you get medical attention. If you’ve had a sprain or strain, the most common workplace injuries, you can see a WCB-approved health care provider right away, without a medical referral. The sooner you receive care, the better.

Staying connected with work helps with your social, mental, physical, and financial well-being. It’s part of your healthy recovery. Your employer may be able to modify your work so you can perform it safely, or they may have alternate work you can do safely while you recover.

As part of your support team, your employer will keep in touch with you throughout your recovery, keeping you up to date on what’s happening at the workplace, and also encouraging your progress.

YOUR WCB CASE WORKER

Your WCB case worker will help with your claim process and ensure you receive your benefit payments for earnings loss and expense reimbursements for medical costs, so you can focus on your recovery, not your finances.

Your case worker will check in with you regularly to ensure your health care treatment plan is working for you.

They’ll also collaborate with your employer and health care provider to find alternate or modified work you can safely do if you’re able to stay at work, or return. It’s about what you can do, not what you can’t.

Your case worker will also act as the go-between for your support team, organizing case conferences when necessary so the entire team can talk together on progress - see below.

YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER

Your health care provider will assess your injury and prescribe treatment for your recovery. This may include assessing your functional abilities – what movements you can safely do.

If you’re able to stay at work, or return to work during recovery, your health care provider will help determine what work you can safely do.

As you recover, your health care provider will update your case worker and possibly change your transitional work to match your new abilities.

 

LISTEN TO YOUR SUPPORT TEAM TALK ABOUT THEIR ROLES

Why is early, open communication with my caseworker so important?

How can I stay connected to work?

    

How can staying at work while I recover be a good thing?

Your WCB case worker might request that you attend a case conference. What is it?

A case conference is a check in between you, your employer, health care provider/doctor, and WCB case worker. It can take place face-to-face, on a Teams video call, or by telephone, depending on the circumstances. 

Your case work may set up a case conference because they:

  • feel you need an adjustment to your treatment plan
  • want to discuss your return-to-work plan with the whole support team

It's important you attend a case conference if invited. 

Working to well is a team effort!