Appeals Commision New Pratice Guidelines

Comments

Issued 2/17/06

A person who has a direct interest in and is dissatisfied with a decision of the WCB Decision Review Body  (DRB), Claim Services Review Committee (CSRC), or the Assessment Review Committee (ARC) may appeal to the Appeals Commission.

The Appeals Commission is the final level of appeal, separate and independent of the WCB.

An appeal must be submitted in writing.

The appeal must be submitted within one year of the date the decision being appealed was signed.
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Providing notice of appeal 
The first step is to give the Appeals Commission notice that you are appealing.

The best method of providing notice of appeal is to:
1. complete a Notice of Appeal form and
2. attach a copy of the decision being appealed

The Notice of Appeal form is available:
by calling our office in:
− Edmonton (780) 412- 8700
− Calgary (403) 508-8800

by picking one up from our offices at:

− Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers’ Compensation

− Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers’

 on our website at www.appealscommission.ab.ca

Note: It will assist in the prompt processing of your appeal if you use and properly complete the Notice of Appeal form. You may submit your appeal in a letter; however, all information required on the form must be provided.

Accessing your WCB file

Parties to an appeal are entitled to review all information in the WCB file. Advise the WCB that a notice of appeal is being filed so your request may be processed on a priority basis.

Workers may access claim files by contacting the WCB’s Customer Contact Centre at (780) 498-3999 (toll-free in Alberta only at 1-866-922-9221) or via fax at (780) 498-7867.

Employers may access claim files by completing a form entitled "Request For Claim File” (check WCB website), and faxing it directly to Access to Information at (780) 498-7876.

Key points to remember in completing the Notice of Appeal form:

If your appeal involves more than one claim, provide all claim numbers. This ensures that the Appeals Commission is aware of all of the claims that might be relevant.

If you have a representative, provide all of the contact information for your representative. All further communications will be directly with your representative.

Provide a copy of each DRB (or CSRC or ARC) decision you are appealing if there is more than one.

Clearly identify the issues you are appealing. The Appeals Commission can only hear issues that have been decided by the DRB (or CSRC or ARC).

− use the exact wording from the DRB decision that outlines the decision on the issue you are appealing

− identify where (the page number) in the DRB document the issue is decided
If you are appealing more than three issues use the Additional Appeal Issues form.
Ensure that the Notice of Appeal form is signed and dated.

The completed form and a copy of the decision may be mailed to, couriered to, or dropped off at one of our offices (addresses on Notice of Appeal form), or may be faxed to the Appeals Commission at (780) 412-8701.

On receipt of a notice of appeal containing all the required information an appeals officer will be assigned to be your contact throughout the processing of your appeal.

You will receive a letter from the Appeals Commission acknowledging receipt of your notice of appeal and providing information about the further processing of your appeal.

The next step is normally the preparation and sharing of the Appeals Document Package and the completion of the Certification of Readiness to Proceed form. (See Practice Guideline #2.)

This information will be in my next editorial!