4. Get ready for your WSIB appeal

After you send in your Intent to object Form, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) sends you a letter that tells you what to do next.

The letter will usually come with a copy of your claim file and an Appeal Readiness Form. You use this form to tell the WSIB when you're ready to go ahead with your .

There's no deadline to submit this form. You should send it when you're ready.

Being ready for your appeal

To be ready for your appeal, the following must be true:

you know if you want someone to represent you in your appeal, for example, a lawyer or paralegal,
you gathered all the written information and documents you have to support your case and sent them to the WSIB, for example, medical documents,
you have worked out any problems with sharing health-care information, and
you can go to a hearing within 90 days.

Make sure to include any new information or documents you have with the form. You can include these even if the first decision-maker did not see them.

You can also send in a statement with your form that explains in more detail the reasons why you disagree with the original decision.

Type of hearing

The Appeal Readiness Form asks what type of hearing you want. But the WSIB makes the final decision.

You can have an oral hearing. This means that the hearing will be:

in person,
by videoconference, or
over the phone.

Or you can have a written hearing. This means that the WSIB decides your appeal by looking at the documents and written information you gave them.

Which type of hearing to choose

If your appeal is about simple issues, the WSIB can make a quicker decision if you choose a written hearing.

If this is what you choose, you must:

write down the reasons why you disagree with the decision, and
send them along with your Appeal Readiness Form.

If your appeal is about complex issues, it's usually best to have an oral hearing. This lets you explain your reasons directly to the person making the decision.

The WSIB has a list of the complex issues that may go with an oral hearing.

Your employer

Your employer decides if they'll take part in your appeal. If they are, the WSIB asks you which health-care information you do not want your employer to have and why.

Then, the WSIB looks at your reasons and decides whether or not they'll give your health-care information to your employer.

If you disagree with the WSIB decision about sharing your health-care information, you have 21 days to appeal to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT).

If you have an oral hearing

If the WSIB decides to have an oral hearing, it will usually happen within 90 days of when you sent in your Appeal Readiness Form.

The WSIB sends you a Hearing Notice letter with information about your hearing.

To prepare for your WSIB hearing, read the WSIB's Appeals: Video conference, teleconference oral hearings and In-person oral hearing.

You can also watch the WSIB's video What to expect at an oral hearing.