# 2019-084 Medical and Dental Care, Summary investigation

Case summary

F&R Date: 2020-04-17

The grievor disagreed with the conclusions of his Chain of Command (CoC) and the Assistant Deputy Minister Review Services (ADM RS) that his injury was not attributable to military service. As redress, the grievor asked that the decision be changed to confirm that the injury he sustained was attributed to military service.

Given that the ADM RS reports directly to the Chief of the Defence Staff, Queen's Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Forces, Chapter 7, Section 2 - Initial Authority in Respect of a Grievance, article 7.13, was applied, meaning that no Initial Authority could be appointed for this file.

The Committee contacted the grievor's CoC, pointing out that the grievor's Reserve Force Compensation (RFC) application contained the medical opinion of the Wing Flight Surgeon, indicating that the grievor's injury was, in fact, attributable to military service. In response, the CoC then provided the Committee with a copy of a new letter indicating that, in light of the medical opinion in the RFC application, the CoC was able to concur with the finding that the grievor's injury was attributable to military service.

Consequently, the Committee found that the previous decision indicating that the grievor's injury was not attributable to military service was incorrect. Following an email exchange with the staff at the Committee, the CoC formally requested that the ADM RS reverse its decision and find that the grievor's injury was attributable to military service.

The Committee recommended that redress be granted and that the grievor's records be corrected to reflect that his injury was attributable to his military service.

FA decision summary

The Final Authority, the Acting Chief of the Defence Staff, agreed with the Committee's recommendation that the grievor's records be amended to indicate his injury was attributable to military service, in light of the medical information that was not considered by the original decision maker.