Sudbury firefighter’s suicide qualifies as an ‘accidental death,’ arbitrator rules

An arbitrator has ruled that Greater Sudbury must pay a death benefit to the estate of firefighter Mike Frost after his 2022 suicide.

An Ontario arbitrator has ruled that a Sudbury firefighter’s suicide qualifies as an accidental death because the man suffered from PTSD and his death was, effectively, from an occupational illness.

The decision means Greater Sudbury must pay an accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) benefit to the firefighter’s estate, even though the city’s insurer denied the claim.

Mike Frost was 40 at the time of his death in May 2022. He was laid to rest in a public funeral attended by dozens of first responders, with the city closing roadways in his honour.

Frost’s estate was denied the AD&D benefit because the insurance policy purchased by the city excludes payouts in cases of suicide.

The Sudbury Professional Firefighters Association appealed that decision, arguing that the city had an obligation to pay the benefit even if the insurer refused.

The union argued that Frost’s death should be defined as an ‘accidental death’ for insurance purposes, because it was the result of PTSD he acquired from trauma he experienced at work.

By purchasing insurance that excluded such claims, the union said the city was violating the collective agreement.

The AD&D benefit is calculated at twice the annual earnings of the employee, up to a maximum of $500,000.

Frost began working as a firefighter in 2011; by 2019, he had work-related PTSD and went on compensation. He tried unsuccessfully to return to work before his 2022 death.

“The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) concluded that the grievor’s death was related to his PTSD and provided his estate with compensation for burial costs and bereavement counselling,” said the written decision by the arbitrator.

“The city successfully submitted a claim for the grievor’s life insurance benefit on behalf of his beneficiaries. It did not initially submit a claim for the grievor’s AD&D benefit.”

The city did later submit an AD&D claim, but the insurer denied it, citing its policy of not covering cases of suicide. The union filed a grievance, arguing that the city violated the collective agreement by purchasing coverage for firefighters that “excludes a recognized work-related cause of death for firefighters.”

‘Death in the line of duty’

“While there is a long line of cases addressing line of duty death and AD&D benefits in the fire sector … this is the first case the parties are aware of to address death by suicide,” the arbitrator wrote.

“It is also the first case between these parties, and indeed the first claim, concerning the AD&D benefit.”

Since 2014 in Ontario, whenever first responders, such as full-time firefighters, develop PTSD, it is presumed that it is related to their jobs. In July 2022, the WSIB accepted that Frost’s death was “due to his work-related PTSD.”

The union argued that Frost’s PTSD-related suicide fits within the definition of “accidental death,” because insurance coverage is intended to “cover death from the kinds of dangers that firefighters face in their work, including occupational illness.”

Because PTSD is an occupational illness for firefighters, and Frost’s suicide was a result of PTSD, it fits the definition of an accidental death.

Buying insurance coverage that excludes cases of suicide, the city was effectively excluding “coverage for precisely the kind of work-related deaths that are known to befall firefighters,” the union argued.

The city countered that its obligation was limited to paying for standard AD&D policies, and it has met that obligation.

Longstanding policy

“It submits that the exclusion for death by suicide is longstanding and is found not only in the current policy but in multiple predecessor policies it has purchased from multiple providers over the years,” the arbitrator said.

“The exclusion is also identified in multiple versions of the city’s employee handbook that were provided to employees over the years.”

The exclusion of coverage for cases of suicide was well known to the union, which had never raised the issue until now, the city argued.

Therefore, the union’s argument is with the insurer, because the city’s role was limited to paying the insurance premiums.

The arbitrator said that the crux of the argument is “whether the policy purchased by the city meets the requirements of the collective agreement.”

In this case, the arbitrator said Frost’s death is no different than any worker who dies of a work-related illness.

“In this context, it submits that there is no meaningful distinction between occupational illnesses such as cancers, that constitute compensable accidents from which death may ultimately occur, and occupational illnesses such PTSD that may cause death by suicide,” the arbitrator wrote.

“It is only outdated conceptions of mental health and moral blameworthiness, rejected at common law and by workplace public policy, that serve to distinguish them.”

It is a well-established precedent that accidental deaths include deaths from occupational illnesses, the decision said.

“I find that the grievor’s death falls squarely within the meaning of an ‘accidental death,’ under the collective agreement, for which the city was required to provide insurance,” the arbitrator wrote.

Because the city purchased insurance that didn’t pay out for Frost’s death, it violated the collective agreement.

“The city is therefore liable to compensate the grievor’s estate for the failure to have provided the requisite insurance coverage,” the arbitrator ruled.

Read the full decision here.