Restaurant Related News

Waitress With Lung Cancer From Secondhand Smoke Wins Case

Ottawa Citizen
Published: October 10, 2002

In a decision that could set a precedent for hospitality workers across Canada, a non-smoking Ottawa waitress who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer after decades of working in smoky restaurants has been awarded worker's compensation.

The Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board ruling in favour of Heather Crowe's claim has "opened a door other people will be able to open," said her lawyer, Phil Hunt.

Ms. Crowe, 57, worked 12 hours a day, six days a week in restaurants, bars and hotels for 40 years, including 15 years at Moe's World Famous Newport Restaurant on Richmond Road.

The customers loved her. And they gave her cancer.

She discovered three lumps in the side of her neck. In March, an X-ray found a tumour the size of her hand in her chest.

Doctors told Ms. Crowe she had less than a year to live. Last night, Ms. Crowe, who is undergoing chemotherapy, said she is "very happy" the ruling will protect other restaurant workers.

She said she never realized she was in danger. "I got really angry. I thought this isn't fair. And now the chemo's brought me to my knees," she said last night. "I'm eating ice crystals and all because of someone else's habit."

It is impossible to put a monetary value on the compensation package, said Mr. Hunt.

A formal decision is still pending. However, her benefits will include compensation for loss of earnings since she was diagnosed last March.

She will also receive a lump sum compensation for permanent impairment, and other compensation to cover personal care, medical expenses and an independent living allowance.

The ruling is a precedent-setting case in the fight to have second-hand smoke declared a workplace hazard, say health officials who advocate smoking by-laws.

Medical experts hailed the decision as a "big step" towards making Ms. Crowe's dying wish come true.

"While we all recognize the dangers of second-hand smoke, and while the bylaws have done a lot to protect the public and workers, this is going to put a clear obligation on employers to ensure that hospitality workplaces are safe," said Dr. Robert Cushman, the city's medical officer of health.

Ms. Crowe hoped her case would move the provincial Ministry of Labour to change its laws. With yesterday's decision, Dr. Cushman said, the government is left with no choice. Failure to adjust workplace safety regulations in the wake of the ruling "is just going to open up the door for more and more cases," Dr. Cushman said. "I think eventually, the government won't be able to afford not to.

"This is good because now the province is going to have to get back in the game with the bylaws," he said. "My only regret is that our bylaw wasn't in place in time to protect Heather." Dr. Andrew Pipe, a smoking cessation expert at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, said the ruling speaks strongly to those who are opposed to smoking by-laws. "This woman has been significantly exposed and there has been a predictable consequence," he said. "It's not a matter of social niceties or tolerance for other people's so-called habits. It's a further dramatic example of the degree that second-hand smoke is a health risk."

At Moe's Newport restaurant last night, waitress Valerie Jaques, 52, said the staff were "all ecstatic." Ms. Crowe's victory is a victory for the industry and Ms. Crowe's cancer could just as easily have been hers, said Ms. Jaques. "If it happened to me I would have stayed home in tears," she said. "She just took the bull by the horns. We're all very proud of her."

Newport owner Moe Atallah said business has improved since the smoking ban was introduced. "If this will make things better for a new generation, if it will make them healthier, then I'm behind it all the way," he said. "I'd like to sleep comfortable at night."

The province's Smoking in the Workplace Act currently protects workers by limiting smoking areas to less than 25 per cent of total floor space.

But health officials say the law offers little protection to workers.

Cynthia Callard, executive director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, said one of the important first steps to change the laws to have second-hand smoke understood as being an occupational hazard.

The next step, Ms. Callard said, is to get the provinces to change their regulations to give hospitality workers the same level of protection from the chemicals in smoke that they give to workers exposed to those chemicals in other forms.

Ms. Crowe will have her story featured in a Health Canada second-hand smoke awareness campaign to be launched today. The campaign includes TV spots and print ads that will appear in transit shelters in 11 major cities, including Ottawa. A Health Canada official, who happened to eat breakfast every morning in the Newport, singled Ms. Crowe out for the campaign.

"What really resonated with people was a real story about a real person living with the impacts of cigarette smoking," said Karen Dufton, director of the office of mass media for Health Canada's tobacco control program. "And from meeting Heather, she's a really incredible person."

She said statistics show 1,000 Canadians die every year as a result of exposure to second-hand smoke, and 300 of those people developed lung cancer.

The Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board declined to discuss details of the claim, citing confidentiality clauses. Spokesman Perry Jensen said the agency had approved one additional claim since Ms. Crowe's situation came to light in August.

In August, the agency reported that in the past 10 years, only two claims had been allowed where second-hand smoke was found to be the primary cause of injury.