WCAT Decision Number:
A2001487 (August 8, 2022)
[55]
In a chart noted dated September 9, 2020 Dr. Bradford noted that the since her MVA the worker
had been having panic attacks and was now having a hard time driving. She said that the
worker reported that she was angry when she did drive and people were “careless” but had to
drive her son to a lot of appointments. She noted that the worker said that she could feel the
impact of other cars when driving and found it exhausting as she had to drive her son to
appointments four days per week and the drive was 45 minutes each way. The worker said that
she dealt with this by holding her breath but this could make her feel lightheaded. She said that
she had to pull over about once every time she did this drive due to anxiety or feeling
lightheaded. She indicated that she feels helpless when in the vehicle with her kids, felt like all
could be taken away from her quickly if she was in an accident. Dr. Bradford also noted that the
worker said that she also could not be a passenger in a vehicle because it made her too
anxious. Dr. Bradford documented that when the worker was transitioning back to work shortly
after the October 2019 MVA, she had watched a safety video in which someone got hit and that
this terrified her. Dr. Bradford indicated that the worker had asked Dr. Laban, her psychiatrist at
reproductive mental health, for a note regarding the worsening of her mental health due to the
October 2019 MVA but Dr. Laban did not have this information in her notes. According to
Dr. Bradford the worker said that she thought that her fears associated with driving/being
around cars would get better with time off work but had not. Dr. Bradford noted that the worker
was currently on maternity leave which was scheduled to end in February 2020. Dr. Bradford
reported that the worker said that she was not able to sleep because she could not “shut her
brain off” but was not taking sleeping pills because she was concerned that they were addictive.
Dr. Bradford indicated that she reassured the worker that trazadone was not an addictive
medication and encourage her to try it. Dr. Bradford diagnosed the worker with “anxiety flare
after MVA at work and queried whether the worker was suffering from post-partum depression.
She noted that the worker had a history of Generalized Anxiety Disorder with ongoing insomnia
and panic attacks. Dr. Bradford said that it was probably too early to look at a return to work as
the worker’s anxiety disorder was not under good control.
[56]
In October 2020, the worker underwent a psychiatric consultation with reproductive mental
health psychiatrist Dr. Singh who noted that the worker reported having “had a motor vehicle
accident when she was pregnant; she was rear-ended by a drunk driver while at work. She has
been struggling with PTSD symptoms from that.” Dr. Singh’s opinion was that the worker had
been “struggling with what appears to be symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD.” The
following month, November 2020, Dr. Singh wrote that she felt quite overwhelmed in her
day-to-day life as a single parent with three young children including an eight-month-old baby
and an older child with autism and ADHD. The following month, Dr. Singh wrote that the worker
was still struggling with irritability and anger on a day-to-day basis, usually triggered when her
children did not listen to her.
[57]
In a chart note dated December 23, 2020 Dr. Bradford noted that the worker was due to return
to work soon. She noted that reproductive mental health would not talk to the worker about her
MVA but indicated that the worker had received five counselling sessions through the Board
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