The Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal has ordered a former miner's benefits reinstated, ruling he continues to suffer following an accident more than 20 years ago.

On December 22, 1991, the unnamed worker, now 53, was employed as a miner. He suffered numerous injuries when the bunkhouse he was sleeping in exploded and he was thrown from the building into a wall of snow and ice.

He filed a claim with the Yukon Workers Compensation Health and Safety Board and has been receiving various amounts of support ever since.

He has suffered severe pain, particularly in his spine, cognitive impairment as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the ruling says.

Between Aug. 26, 2009 and April 26, 2010, board investigators began video surveillance of the man.

In June 2010, officials claimed the man had knowingly provide false or misleading information to the board.

They ruled he was not entitled to any benefits or compensation as of July 5, 2006 and had therefore been overpaid by the board.

The documents make no mention of exactly how much the board believed it was owed.

In the decision released last week, the appeal tribunal disagreed with the board, ruling the miner did not knowingly provide false or misleading information.

"He has been and continues to suffer a loss of earnings capacity due to the injuries resulting from his workplace accident and is therefore entitled to a loss of earnings compensation,” the ruling says.

The 76-page decision repeatedly disagrees with the findings of the board's investigator.

The tribunal ruled it found no evidence that the worker was exaggerating his symptoms as was suggested by the investigator.

A doctor who completed a psychological and neuropsychological assessment on the worker in 1993 and again in 1995 noted "a deterioration in the worker's psychological condition likely due to inactivity, ongoing stresses with respect to dealing with his compensation claim and increased awareness of the impact the accident is having on his life.”

The doctor notes in his last report that the worker's likelihood of being successfully rehabilitated is diminishing rapidly.

The board investigator suggested the doctor failed to consider whether the man may be faking his rapid deterioration.

The appeal committee disagrees and rules it trusted the doctor's report.

The ruling points to a battery of tests the worker underwent in the years following the accident to assess his injuries.

While the board investigator claims to have found difference in the way the worker acted in the various tests, the tribunal ruled it could find no such abnormalities.

"We weighed the extensive medical reports and conclusion of the specialists. These indicate travelling made the workers anxious and stressful,” the decision says.

"The medical specialists that evaluated him agree: he has problems with cognitive functioning, his emotional state (anger) prohibited the medical team from assessing him properly,” the decision says.

The tribunal also concluded that evidence of the man "tinkering on a vehicle” does not constitute regular, paid employment sustained on a permanent full-time basis.

The two sides sides disagree about the value of the surveillance done on the worker.

The board's director of claimant services claimed "the worker was fully functioning; his movements were fluid, flexible and pain-free. The worker spent lengthly periods of time away from the home,” documents say.

However the tribunal points out that little surveillance was done on the worker completing tasks on an ongoing basis.

"There is no way of determining the weight of the groceries carried, what the worker was doing in the vehicle, where he went or what he did under surveillance, and whether or not he took medication before or after this activities,” the decision says.

"The first investigation shows the worker's activities for about an hour. He is observed as a passenger in a vehicle, ascending and descending the stairs, putting gas in his vehicle and smoking cigarettes.

"The recent surveillance shows the worker completing the same activities with the addition of one day of surveillance showing him mowing the lawn and leaning under the hood of a vehicle...”

In the end the appeal committee said it attached little weight to the surveillance when it came to deciding if the worker is capable of being employed.

His disorders do not prevent him from performing simple tasks, they said, however "it is highly unlikely he could cope with his physical pain and emotional problems on an ongoing basis in a work setting for extended periods of time.”

Valerie Royle, president and CEO of the Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board, said today the board is currently reviewing the decision before deciding its next step.

Officials have 30 days to make a decision.

Royle says she has confidence in the use of surveillance as part of investigations by the board — a practice that is common across the country.

The current investigator in the Yukon is a retired police officer who has also received extensive training regarding workers' compensation laws and is up-to-date on cases around the country, she said.

Royle said she approves all uses of surveillance used in this style of investigation.