# 2011-099 Releases, Medical Employment Limitation (MEL), Release - Medical

Case Summary

F&R Date: 2011–10–31

The grievor was released under item 3(b) - Medical - of the table to article 15.01 of Queen's Regulations and Orders. The grievor took issue with the decision to release him and argued that his medical condition was misdiagnosed and that he was incorrectly assigned permanent medical employment limitations (MELs). The grievor argued that there were two opposing points of view regarding his suitability to continue in the Canadian Forces (CF) - his civilian physician provided a prognosis that his medical condition was temporary while the military physician diagnosed the condition as constituting a long term issue. In the grievor's opinion, the administrative review (AR) relied on the incorrect diagnosis and unfairly based its decision on the restrictive MELs that he had been assigned. The grievor initially requested that the MELs be removed and the release decision be reversed. Following his release, he requested that he be reinstated.

The initial authority (IA), the Chief of Land Staff, denied the grievance stating that based on the medical expertise of the specialists who treated the grievor at the time, he was satisfied that the grievor had been assessed correctly. Furthermore, although the IA recognized that the grievor was able to perform the five common tasks required for physical fitness, he was unable to perform the common operational core task of firing and maintaining a personal weapon.

The Board noted that the AR/MEL process went on for some two years after the grievor had been assigned permanent MELs. The Board also noted that, in the course of his review, the IA sought a medical review from the Director Medical Policy who concluded that the grievor has a condition that is at a very high risk of recurrence and the MELs were still valid. Based on its review of the file material, the Board found no evidence that at the time of the ruling, the AR/MEL misapprehended the medical evidence or that the recommendation was otherwise unreasonable. The Board was satisfied that the AR/MEL reviewed all relevant documents pertaining to the grievor's medical condition, including the two letters from the grievor's physician.

The Board found that the grievor was treated in accordance with the relevant policy and the decision to release him on medical grounds was reasonable.

The Board added that if the grievor obtains medical documents showing his suitability to serve in the CF, as he indicated he was in the process of doing, the option is always available to him to re-enroll.

The Board recommended to the Chief of the Defence Staff that the grievance be denied.

CDS Decision Summary

CDS Decision Date: 2013–07–11

The CDS agreed with the Board's findings and recommendation that the grievance be denied.