Veteran Firefighter with PTSD Made Homeless by Alberta WCB

The Workers Compensation Board is admitting it made a mistake in the case of a former Calgary firefighter.

Greg McDougall served on the front lines in Calgary for nearly 30 years and in 2001, he was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.

The disorder was caused by his job and he couldn't work at all.

Eleven months later the WCB cut off his payments and within a year McDougall was homeless.

The Provincial Ombudsman investigated the case for 2 years and now the WCB is apologizing and making some changes to how it handles complex mental health issues.

"I felt that Mr. McDougall had been unfairly treated in many ways," said Gord Button, the Provincial Ombudsman.

The WCB gave McDougall back pay for the time that he was cut off from payments and they now cover his medical costs and provide him with living expenses.

The WCB has nearly 27,000 active cases, 104 of those are primarily for mental health syndrome.