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"I would be a danger to myself and others," said Ron Lewis, who takes several doses of prescribed morphine each day.
"No employer in his right mind would dare to employ a person this medicated."
In 1975, Lewis was working for Western Producer Prairie Books in the shipping/receiving department when he slipped on
some ice while carrying a loaded box.
That Lewis sustained a back injury while at work has never been disputed by the Saskatchewan Workers' Compensation Board,
but the board has maintained for the past 30 years that he is capable of working a minimum-wage job.
In May 1997, a panel of three doctors determined Lewis was "unfit for employment," yet the medical review panel ruled
only five per cent of Lewis's impairment was the result of his fall.
"A large part of his inability to work is due to his fixed idea that he is unable to work. His inability to work is also
compounded by chronic pain syndrome" resulting from his mental state, a congenital deformity of his lower limbs, multiple
surgeries, drug abuse and his back injury, said the medical review panel.
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An injured Saskatoon man off work for more than 30 years and addicted to morphine paid for by the Workers' Compensation
Board says he can't believe the board still expects him to find a job.