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Statistics for Construction

Claims by Accident Type, 2006-2008

Claims by Accident Type; (2006 to 2008); 25% Falls; 23% Overexertion; 22% Struck By; 10% Other Bodily Motion; 7% Struck Against; 3% Caught In; 2% MVAs; 2% Repetitive Motion; 7% Other

Top Accident Types: 2006-2008

Rank
Accident Type
Claims
 FRCC
(Fully Reserved
Claims Cost)		 Days Paid Avg FRCC
Avg Days
1
Falls
7,461
$243,883,752
481,311
$32,688
65
2
Overexertion
6,810
$94,078,147
303,654
$13,815
45
3
Struck By
6,622
$76,978,293
178,942
$11,625
27
4
Other Bodily Motion
2,867
$35,811,998
120,382
$12,491
42
5
Struck Against
2,092
$18,779,236
54,388
$8,977
26
6
Caught In
824
$16,211,702
30,841
$19,674
37
7
MVAs
491
$14,647,977
25,191
$29,833
51
8
Repetitive Motion
688
$14,178,701
44,776
$20,609
65
All Other
2,032
$34,883,348
41,371
$17,167
20
TOTAL
29,887
$549,453,155
1,280,856
$18,384
43

NOTES:
* Rank is based on claims cost.
* Definition of FRCC is located below the Mechanism of Injury Sheets by Classification Unit (CUs).

Mechanisms of Injury (MOI) Sheets

Falls are the most frequently occurring and costly accidents across the construction sector. Falls represent one quarter of all claim volumes and 36 percent of all claim costs. The other dominant accident categories in construction are overexertion and struck by. These three mechanisms of injury account for about 70 percent of all claim volumes and 72 percent of all costs. (Note: WorkSafeBC has made significant changes to the way it reports the cost of claims in the MOI sheets. See the note at the bottom of this page for more information.)

See sector overview (PDF 352 KB) and residential wood frame construction new item (PDF 281 KB) sheets.

Cost paid: falls=$113,806,882; overexertion=$67,073,612; struck by=$44,957,863; all other=$88,366,958. Volume: falls=6,042, overexertion=5,895; struck by=5,076; all other=7,296

Mechanisms of Injury sheets by Classification Unit (CUs)
CU Number Mechanism of Injury
721005 Demolition (PDF 526 KB)
CUs 721009, 721010 & 721011 Concrete Pumping, Placing or Cutting (PDF 327 KB)
721012 Concrete Reinforcing (PDF 458 KB)
721013 Construction General Labour Supply (PDF 399 KB)
721018 Drywalling (PDF 401 KB)
721022 Fire & Flood Restoration (PDF 467 KB)
721024 Framing or Residential Forming (PDF 436 KB)
721027 House Construction (PDF 431 KB)
721028 Building Construction (ICI) (PDF 450 KB)
721031 Land Clearing or Site Preparation (PDF 445 KB)
721036 Low Slope Roofing (PDF 325 KB)
721042 Plastering or Stucco Work (PDF 353 KB)
721043 Plumbing and Heating Installation/Repair (PDF 443 KB)
721049 Siding, Awning, or Gutter Installation (PDF 430 KB)
721051 Steep Slope Roofing (PDF 415 KB)
721052 Structural Concrete Forming (PDF 635 KB)
722005 Steel Frame Erection (PDF 350 KB)

Note: In previous years, Mechanisms of Injury (MOI) sheets contained cost measures designated as Fully Reserved Claim Costs (FRCC). FRCC included claim payments made to date plus the anticipated future liability associated with these claims.

For the MOI sheets covering the period 2008-2010, WorkSafeBC is using total payments to date as the basis for claim costs. The change was made because FRCC may not be accurate at low aggregations of claims. While the claim costs shown are lower (because they do not include estimated future payments), especially for newer claims, the relative weightings will be very similar in most cases.

Source of data: WorkSafeBC Data Warehouse for 2008-2010 (as of April 30, 2011).

Watch out for hazards: Poster illustrating worker fatalities

This poster graphically illustrates the causes of 249 worker fatalities in the construction industry between 1991 and 2000.
Source: WorkSafeBC WorkSafeBC
* PDF (293 KB)

Prevention Matters: October 22, 2001

This article, originally published in the Journal of Commerce graphically illustrates the most common causes of fatalities in the construction industry. The proportion of work-related deaths has been changing with single-incident deaths decreasing and work-related disease deaths increasing.
Source: WorkSafeBC WorkSafeBC
* PDF (20 KB)
 Date: October 22, 2001

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