Occupational disease

An occupational disease is a health problem caused by exposure to a workplace health hazard, for example:

  • Cancer
  • Asthma
  • Asbestosis and silicosis
  • Inhalation of substances and fumes
  • Noise-induced hearing loss

Making a claim for occupational disease

If you think you've become ill because of something you were asked to do or were exposed to at work, you can submit a claim for WSIB benefits.

If your claim is allowed, we will help you get the treatment and services you need for your illness and to improve your quality of life. WSIB benefits can include prescription medications, wage replacement benefits and return-to-work services.

To improve health and safety in your workplace, learn more about workplace health hazards.

Submitting a claim

You can submit a claim through your:

  • employer,
  • doctor,
  • union,
  • a representative of your choice or,
  • you can file your own claim.

To file a claim, you will need your current address, date of birth, Social Insurance Number (SIN), the name of your employer and their address, and the symptoms or illness you are claiming for. You will then need to fill out and submit a  Workers' Report of Injury/Disease or call 416-344-1000 (TTY: 1-800-387-0050) or 1-800-387-0750, Monday to Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. There is no time limit for submitting an occupational disease claim.

What happens when we receive your claim

When we receive your claim we will assign you a claim number and a WSIB decision-maker who specializes in occupational disease. Your decision-maker will provide you with your claim number and call you to gather any additional information we need to process your claim. They'll then review information from you, your employer(s), and your health-care provider(s) to decide if you're eligible for WSIB benefits.
It's helpful if you can:

  • Describe your symptoms and when they began.
  • List the substances you were exposed to, and describe the type of work you were doing.
  • Provide the names and addresses of all doctors you have seen for this illness, and the dates of all medical visits.
  • Provide detailed information about your previous jobs and employers, how long you worked at each job, and the type of work you did.

A medical specialist often needs to diagnose an occupational disease. We may ask you to sign a permission form so we can get a report from a medical specialist.

Getting a decision  

We will call you to let you know our decision and send you your decision in writing. If we make a decision that you don't agree with, you should first talk to your WSIB decision-marker. You can also visit our appeals webpage to learn more about our appeals process.

Protecting yourself from occupational diseases

Your workplace should be healthy for your body and mind. You can help to keep yourself and your workplace healthy by being aware of health hazards in your environment. Learn more about avoiding workplace health hazards that can cause occupational disease.

Learn more