Two Kelowna companies worked together to give an injured worker a wheelchair ramp for her home after WorksafeBC told her they couldn’t pay for it.
Melayna Neufeld graduated from high school a year early at the age of 17. She had big dreams of becoming a lawyer – but just three days after graduating, she was injured at work, forever changing her future.
“I worked as a restaurant hostess in Surrey, it was the ABC Country Restaurant. I carried a large three meter long buffet table from the back of the restaurant to the front through the kitchen,” explains Neufeld.
“The corner of the table stuck and my ankle was crushed between the door and the table,” she adds.
Neufeld told the owner of the restaurant that she was uncomfortable carrying the table alone, but she was told it was her job.
Shortly after the restaurant closed.
Seven years later and after seven operations to save her ankle, she is now an amputee at the age of 24.
Worksafe BC informs Melayna that she is only entitled to a salary of $ 9,000 per year based on how much money she earned for the three months she worked at the age of 17.
She is also not entitled to additional money for permanent renovations to make her home more accessible.
“I have a five-year-old son. I couldn’t bring him into my garden in his entire life. I can’t go down the steps, I can’t wear a prosthesis,” says Neufeld.
Worksafe BC told Melayna they couldn’t pay for the ramp because Melayna’s long-term wage loss rate wasn’t high enough for permanent remodeling. To build the ramp, Melayna kept her own bottle drive, Kelowna Home Hardware donated the wood, and Timber Ridge built the ramp at cost.
“When we see things that the community needs, we like to step forward and help people. Ultimately, we are here because the community supports us,” said Kevin Wallis, general manager, Kelowna Home Hardware
In an email, WorksafeBC tells Castanet that there are two policies that determine changes to the home based on the functional impact and / or losses caused by the injury in the workplace.
“Decisions for each entitlement are made on the specific merits and fairness of each entitlement. If any of these guidelines determine that the worker is not eligible for changes to the home, we encourage the worker to contact his or her workers’ counselor’s office “says a spokesman for WorksafeBC.
“Entitlement is never related to wage rate. It is entirely related to functional need,” adds WorksafeBC.
After Castanet reached out to WorksafeBC, an employee called Neufeld and told her that she would reimburse her for the money she had spent on the ramp.
But her struggle with her workplace injury continues. Visit Neufeld’s GoFundMe page here.
