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WorkSafeBC

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This page contains summaries of Notice of Incident (NI) reports received by WorkSafeBC. This information may help you to prevent similar accidents in your workplace.

THE NI INFORMATION IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Some details have been edited to protect the privacy of workers involved.

Completed WorkSafeBC investigation reports for selected incidents are available online, sorted by industry sector.

All Sectors - Incident Summaries

All Sectors | Construction | Manufacturing | Primary Resources | Public Sector | Service Sector | Trade | Transportation & Warehousing | Young Worker

All Sectors incident summaries from other dates

2009 newest incidents (updated June 30, 2009)

Injury Type : Minor burn to the hand  
Core Activity : Auto service or repair
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009122700103
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

Gasoline that spilled from a container used to empty a gas tank was ignited by a spark from an adjacent vehicle bay. The resulting fire destroyed an auto repair building and its contents.
Injury Type : Possible exposure to ozone (3 workers)  
Core Activity : Institutional kitchen
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009146490041
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

Two kitchen workers may have been exposed to ozone, generated by UV irradiator lamps in the kitchen exhaust hood, when the hood exhaust fan failed. A worker in an adjacent room may also have been exposed. The three workers evacuated the area when symptoms of exposure (headache, dizziness, coughing, lightheadedness) were noticed; they were taken to hospital.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113820158
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

Fly rock struck a vehicle and storage shed.
Watch a slide show about a similar fly rock incident:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=34853
Injury Type : Fatal  
Core Activity : Commercial fishing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009157490121
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A fishing vessel was found near the beach with its engine running and no one on board. A deceased worker was found about 1.5 nautical miles away.
Injury Type : Possible exposure to hazardous substance  
Core Activity : Transfer station operations
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009128230168
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A refuse transfer station was evacuated after the operator of a loader inside the facility suddenly became congested and had difficulty breathing.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161770183
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

An excavator was digging a utilities trench for a home under construction when its bucket severed an energized conductor on an adjacent property.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Roofing materials delivery
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009154970275
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

As a truck-mounted crane was hoisting a load of plywood to a rooftop, the crane lifted off one outrigger. The boom and load swung downward and landed on the ground.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113830121
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A backhoe was digging near a roadway, searching for telecommunications ducts, when it snagged a 14.4-kV conductor.
Injury Type : Broken wrist, contusions  
Core Activity : Roof truss placement
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157410131
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

Workers were installing 47-foot wood trusses for a flat roof of a 2-storey commercial building. Nineteen trusses had been installed when 13 of them collapsed. A worker on top of the trusses fell about 22 feet.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Installation of windows on highrise
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009165810046
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A corner window post, weighing about 300 pounds, fell 20 storeys along the outside of a highrise building under construction. The post hit a cross-member of a scaffold, then landed 30 feet away from the scaffold. The post narrowly missed a worker on the second level of the scaffold.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Swimming pool
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009109750069
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

At a public swimming pool, the high-level chlorine alarm sounded and staff evacuated the pool and contacted emergency services. The fire department responded and closed the chlorine cylinders. However, chlorine continued to leak from at least one cylinder for another 5 hours. The gas supplier fixed the leaking cylinder.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Industrial or commercial renovation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009110750384
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A two-storey building that had been empty for 10 years was undergoing seismic upgrading. A worker dropped some bricks from the second floor. The bricks hit an unidentified 1-inch natural gas stub that was sticking out of the ground, broke a lock off the valve on the stub, and partially opened the valve. Gas flowed into the building and by the time the hazard was recognized, the gas company could not enter the building. Surrounding businesses were evacuated, and the entire block was barricaded. No one was injured and no explosion occurred.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Road construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009150180094
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

An excavator struck and ruptured a 1.25-inch 60-psi plastic natural gas line.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Excavating to install utility pole
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009160850118
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A mini-excavator was excavating to install a new utility pole when it struck and ruptured a 2.5-inch natural gas main line. No one was injured and the gas company contained the leak.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Highrise construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009154960202
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

On a highrise construction site, a temporary anchor and suspension line for an elevated work platform were being repositioned. The anchor and line fell to the ground (about 52 metres), causing extensive damage to an unoccupied vehicle parked beside the construction site.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures  
Core Activity : Power line installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113820151
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A worker fell more than 40 feet from a wooden utility pole.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Blasting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009119700102
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

Fly rock was thrown more than 100 metres from a blast site into the surrounding neighbourhood. Several homes were damaged.
Watch a slide show about a similar fly rock incident:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=34853
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Retail store
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157600116
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A dust devil (small whirlwind) struck a retail store. Two skylights (each weighing about 500 pounds) were ripped out of their frames on the store's flat roof. One skylight landed on the roof about 40 feet away from its frame, the other about 20 feet away. The openings in the roof allowed the wind to displace ceiling tiles inside the store.
Injury Type : Broken ankle  
Core Activity : Steep slope roofing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009160670111
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A young worker was preparing to leave a steep roof. He detached his fall protection and accessed an improperly secured ladder. The ladder kicked out and the worker fell 8 feet.
Injury Type : Concussion, laceration, contusions  
Core Activity : Trap fishing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009157490114
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

As a fisherman was hauling up commercial traps, he was struck by the hydraulic trap hauler.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Diving at fin fish farm
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009113820146
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A high-pressure compressor in the hold of a dive vessel exploded. The compressor was being used to fill scuba tanks with nitrox.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Paper mill
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009110210078
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker was using a hoist equipped with a spreader bar to transfer a reel spool (4,800 pounds) from the #2 paper machine to the #2 rewinder backstand. The spool was about 4 inches above the spool holder when the hoist cable snapped. The spool dropped into the holder, and the spreader bar landed on a reel spool of paper and against the spreader roll.
Injury Type : Fractured pelvis and ribs  
Core Activity : Roofing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009116120162
Date of Incident : 2009-May

Workers were replacing a residential roof with a steep slope (ratio of 7 vertical to 12 horizontal). As one worker was carrying a bundle of asphalt shingles, he fell from the roof to the ground (about 15 feet).
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Blasting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009156160108
Date of Incident : 2009-May

During rock blasting for road construction, blast material snagged an overhead communications cable. This caused a utility pole to shift and dislodged one phase of a 25-kV power line. No one was injured.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Installing water services
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009120030250
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A backhoe's bucket contacted an underground gas line. Traffic was rerouted and an adjacent business was evacuated. No one was injured.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Concrete pumping
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009124710182
Date of Incident : 2009-May

While pumping concrete with its boom fully extended, a concrete pumper truck tipped over onto the pump side. The outriggers had not been fully deployed.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Oil or gas drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009124490066
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A slip-and-cut operation had been completed for the main load line on a drilling rig. ("Slip-and-cut" is the process that replaces the drilling line once the load line reaches its duty cycle.) Following this operation, the drilling rig crew hoisted a stand of drill pipe that contacted the crown of the drilling rig. No workers were injured and operations were suspended until an engineer could re-certify the drilling rig as safe for operations.
Injury Type : Lacerations to hand  
Core Activity : Wooden component manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157600119
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A young worker was trimming boards at a planer. Wanting to move one piece, he reached past the safeguard and his hand contacted the saw blade.
Injury Type : Broken hip  
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009157440147
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker was on top of a 2x6 lumber bundle removing 4x4 dunnage. As he was getting off the load, he slipped and fell to the ground (about 6 feet).
Injury Type : Minor injuries  
Core Activity : Transport of live fish
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009113820133
Date of Incident : 2009-May

While travelling on a highway, a flatbed truck transporting live fish went out of control and overturned. The driver and a passenger (non-worker) sustained only minor injuries.
Injury Type : Fatal  
Core Activity : Worker transport
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009161740097
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker went missing while travelling by boat to a remote logging camp. The drowned worker was eventually located about 20 miles from the work site; his boat has not been found.
Injury Type : Fatal  
Core Activity : Farming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009125400105
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A young worker was on a tractor, compacting silage in an open bunker silo. The tractor rolled over sideways, fatally injuring the worker.
See a hazard alert about a tractor rollover:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34855
Injury Type : Fractured leg  
Core Activity : Rock scaling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450190
Date of Incident : 2009-May

Workers were positioned above each other while scaling a 600-foot vertical rock face. One worker was struck by a rock, which may have been dislodged by another worker or the repositioning of the injured worker's rope.
Injury Type : Head injury, fractured ribs and vertebrae  
Core Activity : Residential construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009137290087
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker fell through two stairwell openings, landing on the basement floor 22 feet below.
Read an investigation report about a similar incident:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/AccidentInvestigations/IR-Construction.asp?ReportID=35074
Injury Type : Fatal  
Core Activity : Falling and bucking
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009158930099
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A manual faller was preparing to fall a red cedar danger tree. A green tree was limb-tied to the cedar. The faller was trying to push over the green tree with another tree when a large slab fell backwards from the cedar and fatally injured him.
Read an investigation report into a similar incident involving a danger tree:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/AccidentInvestigations/IR-PrimaryResources.asp?ReportID=34625
Injury Type : Burns to face and eyes  
Core Activity : Electrical repair
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009153370097
Date of Incident : 2009-May

At a crude oil pumping station, a worker was doing electrical work on a variable frequency drive (VFD). The worker was reversing the leads from the VFD to a recently installed crude oil pump when a capacitor in the VFD discharged, causing an arc flash.
Injury Type : Lacerated scalp  
Core Activity : Residential demolition
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161760825
Date of Incident : 2009-May

As an excavator was placing demolition debris in a garbage bin, a piece of the debris fell and struck a worker's head.
Injury Type : Concussion, temporary loss of consciousness  
Core Activity : Framing or residential forming
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009117640351
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker unhooked his fall protection lanyard to walk across a second-storey residential metal roof with a slope ratio of 4 vertical to 12 horizontal. The worker slipped and fell 18 feet from the edge of the roof, striking a ladder as he fell.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Paper production and rolling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157600106
Date of Incident : 2009-May

Workers had finished coring up (reloading) a rewinder shaft, which requires the shaft to be cantilevered by clamping the journal of one side of the spool. A worker was trying to lower the shaft puller in order to free the shaft and core held up by a hoist. The clamp on the back side was not disengaged, however, and one of the hoist cables snapped. No one was injured.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Pile drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009154930161
Date of Incident : 2009-May

During pile drilling on a construction site, the drill's auger bit contacted a natural gas distribution pipeline. No one was injured.
Injury Type : Mild concussion  
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009124710177
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A 12-foot beam was resting in a beam pocket on a top wall plate. As one end of it was being cut, the beam was dislodged and struck the hard hat of a passing worker.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Landscaping
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009161970016
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

The bucket of a rubber-tracked mini-excavator struck and severed a gas line 12 inches below sub-grade. The location of underground utilities had not been accurately determined before work began.
Injury Type : Fractured foot (2 workers)  
Core Activity : Drywall work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009155070070
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

Two drywallers fell 10 feet from a job-built wooden work platform. They landed on the concrete floor below, and each fractured a foot bone.
Injury Type : Lacerated leg
Core Activity : Low slope roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161770163
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker was using a circular saw to cut into a framed roof surface. He had just completed a plunge cut when the saw contacted his leg.
Injury Type : Fractured wrist, contusions, strain
Core Activity : Electrical work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009137102768
Date of Incident : 2009-May

As a worker was descending an unsecured ladder, both the ladder and worker fell to the ground (about 10 feet).
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Land clearing and site surface preparation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009156240146
Date of Incident : 2009-May

As an excavator travelled under overhead lines, its boom snagged a low-hanging communications cable. The tension caused the 25-kV power lines to separate from the insulators, and an energized line fell to the ground. The excavator did not come into contact with any of the energized lines.
Injury Type : Fractured skull, broken arms, lacerations
Core Activity : Re-roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009137102765
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A young worker attempted to stop a 4x8 sheet of plywood from sliding off the roof edge. The worker fell with the plywood, landing on the back deck about 16 feet below. No fall protection system was in place.
Injury Type : Broken ankle
Core Activity : Exterior painting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009155730106
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker was about 28 feet up a ladder, painting exterior window trim. As the worker reached sideways, the ladder, which was not secured, slid out and the worker fell to the ground.
Injury Type : Amputated fingertip
Core Activity : Meat processing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157410115
Date of Incident : 2009-May

As a worker was cutting meat with a band saw, one finger contacted the blade.
Injury Type : Temporary loss of consciousness, puncture wound to hand
Core Activity : Sheet metal fabrication
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009110750348
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker went into shock after one hand was punctured by a sheet metal screw.
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Supermarket
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009111110189
Date of Incident : 2009-May

As an outdoor product cart was moved, it fell onto a worker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Tower crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009117080166
Date of Incident : 2009-May

The load block hood and load line of a tower crane contacted an overhead high-voltage power line. The trolley motor had been removed, and the loose trolley line safety device was manually engaged incorrectly, allowing the trolley to move inwards.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : General retail
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009108620078
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker was on an extension ladder changing a light bulb when he fell about 20 feet.
Injury Type : Serious head injury
Core Activity : Newspaper delivery
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009145130119
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker was run over by his own vehicle, which was parked on a steep hill.
Injury Type : Fractured feet
Core Activity : Roofing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009161290298
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker had cut sheathing to size and was placing it on the roof when it dislodged and knocked him off his feet. He rode the sheathing to the edge of the roof, then fell to a concrete walkway. The worker was using personal fall protection but there was excessive slack in his lifeline.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009124710171
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A 10-foot section of roof collapsed after being overloaded with roofing material.
Injury Type : Hand laceration
Core Activity : Local government and related operations
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009117930070
Date of Incident : 2009-May

As a worker was repairing a loader, the ball joint was blown out of the ram socket and struck the worker's hand. The worker had heated up both the ram and the ball joint.
Injury Type : Arm amputation
Core Activity : Food product manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009165830019
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker was placing dough in the unguarded hopper of an energized top-loading dough mixer. The blades of the mixer amputated one of the worker's arms.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Tower crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009155400065
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A tower crane was lifting a job-built container with a load of 2,700 pounds. The container collapsed and the load fell to the ground (about 15 feet).
Injury Type : Fractured ribs
Core Activity : Manual falling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009137160052
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A faller was falling a large danger tree (63 feet tall, 28 inches in diameter) on steep ground. The danger tree broke off 6 feet up the stem and fell backwards. The faller was found 27 feet below the base of the tree.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Test hole drilling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009154960187
Date of Incident : 2009-May

During overdrilling in an existing borehole, the hollow-stem auger struck a 2-inch natural gas line. The resulting natural gas leak was later repaired.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009156240143
Date of Incident : 2009-May

Fire destroyed a wood frame building under construction. No workers were on site at the time of the fire.
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Falling and bucking
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009161750107
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A faller was struck by a cedar log that had just been bucked.
Injury Type : Cracked vertebrae
Core Activity : Electrical utilities
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009117930067
Date of Incident : 2009-May

During a training exercise, a worker was descending a 40-foot wooden utility pole. He was about 20 feet up when he fell to the ground.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Auto service and repair
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009070890042
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A mechanic was changing the oil of a short-box pickup truck. As the oil drained, the truck tipped slowly backward, pivoting on the rear-facing support arms of a hoist with an 8,000-pound capacity. The contents of the truck box were hidden by a security cover; they included a full load of plumbing tools and supplies.
Injury Type : Internal injuries
Core Activity : Finishing carpentry
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009129160731
Date of Incident : 2009-May

Several workers were unloading cabinetry from a semi-trailer truck on a construction site. Thirty-one sheets of fibreboard, each 5 feet by 10 feet and weighing about 90 pounds, were standing between the cabinets. The sheets were not secured. When the cabinets were removed from one side of the trailer, the stack of sheets tilted and pinned a worker against a wall.
See a hazard alert about a worker who was fatally crushed while unloading a stack of materials:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34722
Injury Type : Crushed vertebrae, fractured wrist
Core Activity : Planing mill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009129160733
Date of Incident : 2009-May

Two workers were doing maintenance on a drive unit for the infeed belt conveyor of a debarker. One of them was welding from a ladder about 8 feet above grade. The ladder was secured against the interior wall of a waste conveyor that was not locked out. When the conveyor started, the ladder shifted and the worker fell to the ground.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating for water line tie-in
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009158880164
Date of Incident : 2009-May

An excavator struck an underground 14.4-kV conductor.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Land clearing, excavation, or site preparation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009110750330
Date of Incident : 2009-May

An articulating crane mounted on a tractor was moving a large transformer (2370 kilograms) from one side of a work site to another. The side outriggers had not been deployed, and the crane tipped over onto its side, pulling the carrier with it.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Metal recycling facility
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009163800051
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker was repositioning a car crusher trailer in a metal recycling yard when the hydraulic cylinder of the crusher unit snagged a power line. The attached utility pole broke off at ground level and fell across the truck.
Injury Type : Arm injuries
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009154960160
Date of Incident : 2009-May

To access a suspended slab, a worker climbed the 2x4 walers of the concrete wall formwork. The worker fell about 8 feet.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113820118
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A boom truck left a work site with its boom in the raised position. The boom contacted overhead power lines, pulling them down and damaging two utility poles.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Water main installation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009154960154
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker was cutting an existing steel water line (20 inches in diameter) with a cutting torch. The coal-tar corrosion membrane ignited, and the fire spread rapidly along the open-ended 200-foot pipe.
Injury Type : Electric shock
Core Activity : Trailer and truck rental operations
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009163730132
Date of Incident : 2009-May

As a worker was adjusting the feed rollers on an older wire feed machine, one hand contacted the unprotected 110-volt power supply. The worker, who was not wearing gloves, sustained a moderate electric shock. This particular type of machine was manufactured with no barrier between the roller adjusters and the power supply.
Injury Type : Amputated fingers
Core Activity : Concrete pumping
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009110750357
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker was cleaning the lines of a concrete pumper truck when the cleaning sponge got stuck in the "S tube" (located in the hopper). As the worker was trying to remove the sponge, the pump cycled.
Injury Type : Electrical burns
Core Activity : Cleanup of new building
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009158880162
Date of Incident : 2009-May

As a young worker was cleaning a high-voltage electrical cabinet in a newly constructed building, he contacted a 12-kV line.
Injury Type : Possible exposure to hazardous substance
Core Activity : Plastic product manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009144660059
Date of Incident : 2009-May

Workers in a manufacturing plant detected an unknown odour. The building was evacuated and the fire department attended the work site.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Loading barge with logging equipment
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009136960131
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A log loader became unstable while descending a steep barge ramp. The loader overturned and became partly submerged in about 8 feet of water. Co-workers were not able to rescue the trapped operator.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebrae and arm
Core Activity : Insulation installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009122700078
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker fell from an attic to grade (12 feet).
Injury Type : Fractured arm, broken ribs
Core Activity : Manual falling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009152480147
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A manual faller was falling a dangerous tree that was hung up in another tree when a large branch broke off and struck the faller.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Gutter installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157530122
Date of Incident : 2009-May

Two young workers were positioning a new 52-foot-long gutter on a roof when it contacted a 14.4-kV power line. One of the young workers sustained a fatal electrical injury.
See a slideshow about another incident in which a worker died while installing gutters:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/publications/multimedia/slideshows.asp?ReportID=34909
Injury Type : Compressed vertebrae, facial injuries
Core Activity : Residential framing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009124710157
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker was installing roof trusses when he fell to grade (about 12 feet). No fall protection system was in place.
Injury Type : Foot fractures
Core Activity : Metal manufacture and refining
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009111970097
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker was leaning on a guardrail to check the flow of effluent in a splitter box when the railing broke. The worker fell forward but was able to land on his feet.
Injury Type : Crush injury to hand
Core Activity : Machine shop
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009104270108
Date of Incident : 2009-May

As a machine operator tried to put a part in the chuck of a vertical lathe, one hand was crushed between the spindle (chuck) and the tool turret of the lathe.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Moving hydroelectric generators
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009152480135
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker about to do maintenance was fatally crushed between the gooseneck of a low-bed trailer and a jeep frame. The low-bed operator intended to raise the gooseneck but inadvertently lowered it about 4 inches instead.
Injury Type : Injuries to ankle and foot
Core Activity : Drilling for natural gas
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009158820110
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

Workers on a drilling rig were conducting a routine cut-and-slip operation (removing the worn portion of the drilling rig's main lifting cable). One of the workers unintentionally bumped a pneumatic toggle switch used to prevent two-blocking. The switch activated a cylinder that applies the draw work's brake, pinning a worker's ankle between the cylinder yoke and a pivot shaft.
Injury Type : Non-injury
Core Activity : Dumping debris from land clearing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009156730173
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A large dump truck dumped its load of debris, then pulled forward with its box still raised. The box struck a 25-kV overhead power line, causing one of the truck's tires to blow off and igniting a fire in the surrounding area.
Injury Type : Fracture, lacerations
Core Activity : Paper recycling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009163730126
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

At a paper recycling facility, two workers were repositioning the primary screen basket using an overhead crane. One worker inadvertently activated the crane's remote control, causing the crane to move. As a result, two of the three bolts securing the screen to the under-the-hook lifting device snapped. One arm of the lifting device came up and struck the other worker.
Injury Type : Electric shock, temporary loss of consciousness
Core Activity : Welding
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009143950091
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker was plugging a 240-volt extension cord for a portable welder into a 240-volt wall receptacle when he sustained an electric shock. The shock propelled him about 4 feet, where he struck a parked vehicle.
Injury Type : Bruises
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009161740087
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

Two loaded logging trucks were on the same road heading in the same direction. The lead truck pulled over to let the second truck pass. As the second truck was passing, a small log fell off of it. The log struck the cab of the truck that had pulled over, slightly injuring the driver of that truck.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Shrink-wrapping of scaffolding
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009158880152
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

Workers were applying a shrink-wrap tarp to a scaffold 7 storeys high. A gust of wind tore the tarp from the workers' grasp and wrapped it around a 12-kV power line. The wind then pulled the tarp and power line into a second power line, causing the first line to melt and fall to the ground while still energized.
Injury Type : Puncture wound to arm
Core Activity : Public school district
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009165570016
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A student in a vocational program was using a pneumatic nailer to nail floor joist blocking. A nail deflected and struck the student.
Injury Type : Hip injury, laceration
Core Activity : Residential renovation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009155070086
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker fell just over 17 feet from an unguarded roof edge to grade.
Injury Type : Contusion and possible concussion
Core Activity : Sheet metal fabrication
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157410101
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker had exited a lift truck to place dunnage under a load. The worker was standing behind the lift truck carriage and bent over to place the dunnage. As he stood up, the worker struck his head on the carriage.
Injury Type : Fractures
Core Activity : Supermarket
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009163730124
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

Two workers were placing a deli oven weighing about 500 pounds onto a pallet for disposal. The oven was raised on the forks of a small electric hand forklift. As the workers were pushing the pallet under the oven, the oven became unstable and fell onto one of the workers.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Wood preserving
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009110210057
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A loader was on the back side of the peeler deck, helping to manipulate a pole onto the carriage. When the job was finished, the loader backed up and struck a pothole. The loader's forks rose and caught the cable attached to the peeler shed wall, tearing it from the building.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Concrete reinforcing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161950451
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

The bottom mat of steel reinforcing rebar was being installed in a slab at ground level. Workers were using a gas-powered cut-off saw with an abrasive blade. After the workers had left the site, the vapour barrier caught fire. The fire was immediately extinguished.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Tower crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009115132475
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

The jib of a lower tower crane contacted the hoist line of a higher tower crane.
Injury Type : Amputated finger
Core Activity : Leaking condo repair
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009154960146
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker was ripping a small, unsecured strip of plywood with a portable circular saw. When the wood kicked back, the hand securing the stock contacted the saw blade.
Injury Type : Serious hand injuries
Core Activity : Rock scaling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450165
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker on a rock scaling crew noticed a coolant leak on a running air compressor. The worker opened the door of the air compressor. While moving the radiator hoses to locate the leak, the worker's hand was caught in the engine fan.
Injury Type : Strained leg
Core Activity : Structural concrete forming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009163710119
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

As a worker was installing bolts on a gang panel, he was pinned by another panel being moved by a tower crane.
Injury Type : Serious burns to one arm
Core Activity : Installing traffic signal
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157450048
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

While working on a traffic signal, a worker contacted the uninsulated wires of nearby trolley bus lines.
Injury Type : Electric shock
Core Activity : Food product manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009156730166
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker was standing on a table trying to insert a plastic scraper in a metal food-processing machine. The worker sustained an electric shock, and fell about 3 feet to the concrete floor.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavation work
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009112850123
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

While preparing a site for a retaining wall, an excavator severed a 1.75-inch gas line. The line was about 6 feet below grade, inside the owner's property line. The location of underground utilities had not been accurately determined before digging began.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Replacing window panes
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161950456
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

As eight workers were removing a pane of tempered glass from a third-floor window, the pane shattered and fell to the ground. No one was injured.
Injury Type : Smoke inhalation (5 workers); burns and foot injury (1 worker)
Core Activity : Fire brigade
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009111080049
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

Six firefighters were injured while fighting a fire in a residential building.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Utility upgrades
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009154960122
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A backhoe was digging 1 metre from a located 2-inch gas line when it ruptured an intersecting 1-inch gas line.
Injury Type : Large leg contusion and pain
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157600091
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

Three workers had just replaced the anvil in the hog that mechanically crushes ("chews") bark and other wood by-products. The hog door had been raised using a come-along winch. As the workers were closing the hog door, the come-along chain came loose and the door fell onto a worker's leg.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113820090
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A loaded off-highway logging truck went out of control while descending a steep grade. The truck and trailer rolled onto their side, and the load of logs spilled off the trailer.
Injury Type : Concussion, hand injuries
Core Activity : Ranch
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009116120114
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A 2-seater plane flown by a worker crashed.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebrae, arm, foot
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009163050074
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker was about to install tar paper around window openings above a sundeck that had a rubber membrane on its surface. The membrane was covered in a thin layer of frost. When the worker stepped on the membrane, he slipped and fell 21 feet to the ground below. The worker was not wearing any personal fall protection equipment.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Maintenance of underwater intake grate
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009160850076
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A 24-foot aluminum diving boat, secured by a two-point moor to a bridge over a river, overturned while the 4-person crew was conducting diving operations. No one was injured.
Injury Type : Non-injury
Core Activity : Court services
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009163050072
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A local detachment of the RCMP received a telephoned bomb threat regarding the court services building. The building was evacuated, and no injuries were sustained by employees or members of the public.
Injury Type : Crush injury to leg
Core Activity : Strip steel slitting and cutting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157520116
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

An 1,800-pound slit steel coil fell off a coil car and struck a nearby worker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Land clearing or site surface preparation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009152480115
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A faller lost control of a tree he was falling, and it struck an energized 14.4-kV overhead power line. The faller then tried to cut the tree down from the line while the line was still energized.
Injury Type : Fractured wrist
Core Activity : Hotel food service
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009110750314
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

While carrying a pail of food to the cooler, a worker fell.
Injury Type : Broken nose, rib injuries
Core Activity : Liquor store
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009029270092
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker was preparing a new liquor store for opening when he heard a noise outside the front of the store and observed liquid coming through the seal around the door. When the worker opened the door to investigate, he was jumped by a group of seven youths and assaulted. The youths were scared off by three other teenagers who observed the incident and phoned 9-1-1.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009156730140
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

During excavation work, a boom truck was holding in position a utility pole that carried energized 25-kV power lines. The bottom of the utility pole kicked out, overloading and destabilizing the crane.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road maintenance
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009143950069
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A tri-axle end dump trailer was dumping a load of sand in a sand storage shed on a private ski hill road. The driver moved the tractor trailer unit ahead with the box raised. The box contacted an overhead 25-kV power line.
Injury Type : Exposure to asbestos (2 workers)
Core Activity : Food processing plant
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009161970020
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

Two workers entered an attic area insulated with asbestos-containing material. Unaware that the material contained asbestos, the workers disturbed it. They were not using any type of personal protective equipment.
Injury Type : Fractured arm, internal injuries
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113820065
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A welder (a young worker) was struck by a shaft and pinion gear that fell on him as he worked under a crawler crane. The combined weight of the parts was estimated to be about 500 pounds.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009156730096
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

At about 4:00 a.m., several shots were fired into a restaurant, and a slogan concerning the Bar Watch program was painted on the exterior wall.
Injury Type : Fractured skull and arm; leg injury; numerous lacerations
Core Activity : Heli-skiing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009155980157
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

While guiding skiers, a heli-ski guide was caught in an avalanche. He deployed his snowpulse avalanche air bag, which prevented him from being buried by the snow.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Truck-mounted crane operation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009110750226
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

While booming out, a truck-mounted crane tipped onto its side. The boom was extended 64 feet to the side of the carrier, and the truck's stabilizers had not been deployed.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : Garbage removal
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009163730088
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was standing on the deck of a flatbed trailer, putting the last strap on a load of scrap pallets. He lost his footing and fell just over 4 feet to grade.
Injury Type : Injured vertebrae
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009161750075
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was struck on the head by a piece of lumber that fell off a conveyor.
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Forklift tire repair
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009137102742
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was repairing a flat tire on a forklift. To raise the forklift, he placed his jack on a 5,000-pound counterweight that was not bolted to the machine. The counterweight lifted up and away from the forklift, leaving the propane tank hose holding it in place while resting outward on a steel counterweight support member. Another worker identified the hazard of the stretching propane connection hose and released the latches on the propane-securing harness, causing the counterweight to fall and strike the worker repairing the tire.
Injury Type : Undetermined injury
Core Activity : Plastic recycling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009158750074
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was on a work platform doing maintenance on a machine when he fell about 10 feet.
Injury Type : Amputated fingertip
Core Activity : Electronic equipment set-up
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009110750201
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

As a worker lowered the powered tailgate on a cube van, one finger was caught between the tailgate and the frame of the truck.
Injury Type : Puncture wound to foot
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009161980109
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A young worker was shot through the foot with a 3-inch nail while assisting another worker to position a wooden wall stud. The injured worker inadvertently kicked the tip of the pneumatic nail gun that was being held, trigger depressed, by the other worker.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Fractured vertebra
Core Activity : Demolition work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161950413
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

As a worker was doing demolition work on the second floor of a 3-storey building, a portion of the third floor collapsed onto him. No demolition plan certified by a professional engineer was available at the site.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Building maintenance
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009154890021
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

While working on an electrical distribution panel for internal lighting (347 volts), a worker contacted a live terminal with needle-nose pliers. The distribution panel had not been disconnected and locked out as required.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009119700051
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A loaded log transporter was travelling on a highway when the left mounting bracket attachment bolts failed on the front bunk. The truck and trailer spun 180 degrees, and the trailer overturned. Logs from both the truck and trailer were scattered along the highway.
Injury Type : Severe lacerations
Core Activity : Shake and shingle mill
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157600053
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A saw operator cut a round off a short cedar log in the log-haul conveyor. The round became lodged between the end of the log-haul conveyor and the apron of the transfer deck. A second worker tried to dislodge the cedar round using a picaroon. The picaroon came loose as the worker was pulling on the piece, and the worker fell backward into the unguarded running circular saw, which was in the retracted/neutral position.
Injury Type : Laceration
Core Activity : Structural metal fabrication
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009066220020
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker operating a vertical turning machine was struck by a stringer.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Firefighting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009154900012
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

During a fire drill, workers were operating a fire truck with an aerial ladder. The ladder's waterway, which holds the nozzle and piping, broke away when the water line was charged. The force of the water thrust the nozzle past the end of the ladder and against an adjacent building.
Injury Type : Serious burns
Core Activity : Brewery
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450101
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker noticed a leak from the man hatch of a brew kettle and tried to tighten a locking knob to increase seal tension. The brass threads in the knob pulled out, causing the hatch to release. The worker was scalded by hot mash.
Injury Type : Arm injuries
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009070890017
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker reached inside a bull edger, between the outfeed press roll and the line bar, to loosen a stuck safety pin. As the pin was struck with a hammer and came loose, the press roll dropped onto the worker's arm. The equipment had not been properly locked out.
Injury Type : Exposure to hydrocarbon vapours
Core Activity : Service station
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009157580056
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

Workers inside a service station experienced symptoms of exposure to hydrocarbon vapours, including headaches, dizziness, and nausea. Several days earlier, a gasoline spill occurred during a tank truck delivery to the service station. Hydrocarbon vapours had migrated through the ground and entered the service station building through a conduit opening in the foundation.
Injury Type : Sore back
Core Activity : Log home construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009058250131
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A prefabricated log home was being loaded onto a flatbed truck. A worker was on the truck using a rope to pull a post into place when the rope broke. The worker slipped off the side of the truck and landed on his back in the snow 8 feet below.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Utility pole installation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009163050038
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

Workers were hand digging to expose a known gas line in a location where a new utility pole was to be installed. A backhoe was cleaning debris from the excavation. As the backhoe knuckled, the outside tooth, which was on an angle, nicked the 1.25-inch gas line. The site was immediately vacated and secured, and no one was injured.
Injury Type : Lacerations, contusion
Core Activity : Public bus service
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009112840046
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A transit operator was assaulted by three young passengers.
Injury Type : Injuries to head
Core Activity : Automotive repairs
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009154900009
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

As a worker was repairing the air brake system of a tractor-trailer, he inadvertently cut the clamp on the brake pod. The chamber, which was not caged, sprung off the base of the pod and struck the worker.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Manual tree falling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009161740026
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was falling trees along a highway for roadside clearance. As he was falling an alder 33 cm in diameter at the stump, it barberchaired (split at the base when back cut), kicked back, and fatally struck him.
Injury Type : Temporary loss of consciousness; injuries to head and face
Core Activity : Painting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161950393
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was standing on a 6-foot stepladder, painting above his head. He fell from the ladder and landed on the concrete floor below.
Injury Type : Crushed fingertip
Core Activity : Wood product manufacture
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009130570091
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was doing a visual/tactile check of a bundle of oriented strand board (OSB) on a grade line. The worker leaned against the side of the bundle with one hand and checked the cut end with the other. A side press activated and crushed a finger on the leaning hand.
Injury Type : Lacerated fingers
Core Activity : Chainsaw operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009156160040
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

During a fall and burn operation to eliminate mountain pine beetle, a worker's hand contacted the moving parts of a chainsaw.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Power pole and line service
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009155980070
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

An excavator was removing a large rock from a hole dug for a utility pole. The rock slipped out of the bucket and ruptured the exposed 2-inch gas line.
Injury Type : Amputated finger
Core Activity : Cabinet installation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009116120059
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker's finger was amputated when he inadvertently placed his hand down on a portable table saw that had been left running.
Injury Type : Shoulder/arm injury
Core Activity : Marine manufacture
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009160850049
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was on a 3-foot stepladder on a boat under construction. An unsecured bulkhead shifted, and the worker fell from the second rung of the ladder and struck an adjacent boat.
Injury Type : Penetrating wound to hand
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009161750036
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

During framing of an interior wall, a worker's hand was pierced by a 2-inch nail discharged by a pneumatic nail gun.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Burns
Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009165870024
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A young worker slipped on a freshly mopped floor and put both hands on the grill to break his fall.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Emergency response services
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008139860051
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was driving an ambulance on a routine (non-emergency) call. The worker suffered acute seizure, and the ambulance struck several parked vehicles. The worker was fatally injured in the accident.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Painting exterior of building
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2007117670268
Date of Incident : 2007-Jul

A worker was using a boom truck to paint the outside of a building. The worker had forgotten to deploy the stabilizers, and the boom truck tipped onto its side. The worker rode the bucket down from a height of about 20 feet.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Construction site surface preparation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161770128
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A mini-excavator trying to remove a tree stump ruptured a 2-inch buried gas line, resulting in the discharge of gas.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Scaffold erection
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009158880146
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

As final height adjustments were being made to a section of scaffolding 40 feet long by 24 feet high, the scaffolding toppled over, contacting a low-voltage line.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Forklift operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009117080138
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

The carriage of a telescopic forklift contacted an energized low-voltage overhead power line.
Injury Type : Partial amputation of arm
Core Activity : Aluminum window manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113830086
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker sustained a partial amputation while using a chop saw to cut cardboard.
Injury Type : Temporary loss of consciousness; bruising
Core Activity : Fireproofing and insulation work
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009111110160
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker on scaffolding 25 feet above grade fell about 8 feet to the scaffold working platform below the one he was on.
Injury Type : Singed arms
Core Activity : Rock drilling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009117640239
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A rock drilling company drilled into an underground concrete-encased 14.4-kV electric conductor.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Transportation and warehousing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009112840077
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A packaged metal product transported on a forklift sliced through a plastic-reinforced corner and wall of a plastic tote that contained 1000 litres of a concentrated detergent. After the tote was sliced, the forklift operator tipped the tote onto its side to prevent the container from discharging the entire contents. The container was moved from the warehouse area to one end of the parking lot and then near a storm drain at the other end of the lot. This course of action was re-evaluated and the tote was returned to the loading area of the warehouse. A worker who started clean-up of the product in the warehouse without appropriate personal protective equipment was decontaminated by the Hazardous Materials Response Unit. The tote contained a mixture of sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite, alkyl tricarboxylate, and polyacrylate. No one was injured.
Injury Type : Fractured ribs
Core Activity : Scaffold rentals and installations
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157450044
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

In a storage yard, a forklift operator was moving a bundle of scaffold metal braces and putt logs. The bundle rolled forward off the forks and onto a worker.
Injury Type : Amputated fingertip
Core Activity : Sheet metal fabrication
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009163730115
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker was operating a punch press. As the worker removed a part that had just been punched, the machine unexpectedly cycled.
Injury Type : Fractured ankle
Core Activity : Movie theatre
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009120030186
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

While changing sign letters, a worker fell about 6 feet to the ground from a 13-foot aluminum extension ladder.
Injury Type : Broken leg (non-worker)
Core Activity : Warehouse operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009150180040
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A 2-year-old child climbed onto a forklift. The child was standing at the steering wheel with his foot on the throttle pedal. The child turned the key and the forklift started. The forklift was in gear and drove straight ahead and off the end of the 4-foot-high loading dock. The forklift came to rest on its side with the child under the forklift.
Injury Type : Burns
Core Activity : Electrical work
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009111110159
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker had completed installing a new breaker kit in a 600-volt panel that had to remain energized for specialized equipment (MRI, lab equipment). As the worker exited the breaker installation area, the tool he was holding contacted a live bus, causing an arc flash.
Injury Type : Bruising from harness
Core Activity : Concrete finishing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009163710102
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

Two concrete finishers were moving a swing stage platform when the down button on one of the cable motors became stuck due to a buildup of concrete grout. The other side of the swing stage continued downward, leaving one worker hanging in his harness and the other worker holding onto the swing stage.
Injury Type : Hand lacerations and fractures (non-worker)
Core Activity : Mass copying of compact discs
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009139860094
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A non-worker was watching a compact disc/industrial-sized printer in production. The non-worker reached for a falling CD and got his hand caught in the machine.
Injury Type : Deep laceration
Core Activity : Manual tree falling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009158930072
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A faller was cut when his chainsaw kicked out of a back cut of a standing tree.
Injury Type : Undetermined injuries to back, pelvis, leg, arm
Core Activity : Manufacture of fire dampers
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009147280072
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker was retrieving a 20-foot piece of pipe from job-built angled cantilever storage racking. The racking, which was just over 6 feet high, tipped over. Metal stock struck and partially covered the worker.
Injury Type : Broken ankle
Core Activity : Mobile rock crusher operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157410084
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker entered the discharge conveyor section of a mobile rock crusher to clear material. The conveyor inadvertently started with the worker in the area.
Injury Type : Fractures, cuts, scrapes
Core Activity : Orchard operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009165880009
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker was operating a tractor, spreading fertilizer down the rows of a high-density orchard while other workers followed behind. One worker tried to walk to the front of the tractor while it was in operation. The worker fell backwards under the tractor's left rear tire and was run over.
Injury Type : Amputated fingertip
Core Activity : Wood product manufacturing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009111110129
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker's fingertip was amputated as he used his hand to test the temperature of the side head pressure plate that aligns boards going through a planer.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Irrigation line installation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009165880003
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A backhoe struck a 2-inch natural gas line while digging to install a new water line in a vineyard. After contacting the gas line the backhoe operator left the area.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebrae, concussion, abrasions
Core Activity : House construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009117640209
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker was installing hip roof trusses while standing on the bottom chord of a pre-manufactured 26-foot-span wooden truss when the pressed fastener sheared. He fell 9 feet 4 inches to the concrete floor below.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Pipeline installation
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009124490044
Date of Accident : 2009-Apr

Workers were hydrovacing (a process using hot water and vacuum suction to locate and expose underground utilities) and excavating around an existing sour gas pipeline. The workers did not anticipate a bend in the pipeline. The excavator ruptured the pipeline, releasing sour gas (hydrogen sulfide) and fluids into the immediate work area. Workers evacuated the area and the rupture was contained without any workers being injured.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Interior renovations to retail premises
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161950429
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker was coring a 2-inch-diameter hole in an 8-inch-thick concrete suspended slab. At a depth of 5.5 inches, the drill bit struck and damaged an energized 600-volt conductor.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Agriculture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009152480102
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A utility vehicle struck the side of the trailer unit of a parked semi truck and trailer. The worker operating the utility vehicle was fatally injured.
Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Bridge resurfacing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009157620084
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A worker was struck by the side mirror of a truck that drove through a traffic barricade and into a work area. The truck was being pursued by police.

2009 January - March

Injury Type : Fractured arm, internal injuries  
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113820065
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A welder (a young worker) was struck by a shaft and pinion gear that fell on him as he worked under a crawler crane. The combined weight of the parts was estimated to be about 500 pounds.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace  
Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009156730096
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

At about 4:00 a.m., several shots were fired into a restaurant, and a slogan concerning the Bar Watch program was painted on the exterior wall.
Injury Type : Fractured skull and arm; leg injury; numerous lacerations  
Core Activity : Heli-skiing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009155980157
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

While guiding skiers, a heli-ski guide was caught in an avalanche. He deployed his snowpulse avalanche air bag, which prevented him from being buried by the snow.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Truck-mounted crane operation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009110750226
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

While booming out, a truck-mounted crane tipped onto its side. The boom was extended 64 feet to the side of the carrier, and the truck's stabilizers had not been deployed.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures  
Core Activity : Garbage removal
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009163730088
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was standing on the deck of a flatbed trailer, putting the last strap on a load of scrap pallets. He lost his footing and fell just over 4 feet to grade.
Injury Type : Injured vertebrae  
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009161750075
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was struck on the head by a piece of lumber that fell off a conveyor.
Injury Type : Fractured leg  
Core Activity : Forklift tire repair
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009137102742
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was repairing a flat tire on a forklift. To raise the forklift, he placed his jack on a 5,000-pound counterweight that was not bolted to the machine. The counterweight lifted up and away from the forklift, leaving the propane tank hose holding it in place while resting outward on a steel counterweight support member. Another worker identified the hazard of the stretching propane connection hose and released the latches on the propane-securing harness, causing the counterweight to fall and strike the worker repairing the tire.
Injury Type : Undetermined injury  
Core Activity : Plastic recycling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009158750074
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was on a work platform doing maintenance on a machine when he fell about 10 feet.
Injury Type : Amputated fingertip  
Core Activity : Electronic equipment set-up
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009110750201
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

As a worker lowered the powered tailgate on a cube van, one finger was caught between the tailgate and the frame of the truck.
Injury Type : Puncture wound to foot  
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009161980109
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A young worker was shot through the foot with a 3-inch nail while assisting another worker to position a wooden wall stud. The injured worker inadvertently kicked the tip of the pneumatic nail gun that was being held, trigger depressed, by the other worker.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Fractured vertebra  
Core Activity : Demolition work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161950413
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

As a worker was doing demolition work on the second floor of a 3-storey building, a portion of the third floor collapsed onto him. No demolition plan certified by a professional engineer was available at the site.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Building maintenance
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009154890021
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

While working on an electrical distribution panel for internal lighting (347 volts), a worker contacted a live terminal with needle-nose pliers. The distribution panel had not been disconnected and locked out as required.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009119700051
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A loaded log transporter was travelling on a highway when the left mounting bracket attachment bolts failed on the front bunk. The truck and trailer spun 180 degrees, and the trailer overturned. Logs from both the truck and trailer were scattered along the highway.
Injury Type : Severe lacerations  
Core Activity : Shake and shingle mill
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157600053
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A saw operator cut a round off a short cedar log in the log-haul conveyor. The round became lodged between the end of the log-haul conveyor and the apron of the transfer deck. A second worker tried to dislodge the cedar round using a picaroon. The picaroon came loose as the worker was pulling on the piece, and the worker fell backward into the unguarded running circular saw, which was in the retracted/neutral position.
Injury Type : Laceration  
Core Activity : Structural metal fabrication
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009066220020
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker operating a vertical turning machine was struck by a stringer.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Firefighting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009154900012
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

During a fire drill, workers were operating a fire truck with an aerial ladder. The ladder's waterway, which holds the nozzle and piping, broke away when the water line was charged. The force of the water thrust the nozzle past the end of the ladder and against an adjacent building.
Injury Type : Serious burns  
Core Activity : Brewery
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450101
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker noticed a leak from the man hatch of a brew kettle and tried to tighten a locking knob to increase seal tension. The brass threads in the knob pulled out, causing the hatch to release. The worker was scalded by hot mash.
Injury Type : Arm injuries  
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009070890017
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker reached inside a bull edger, between the outfeed press roll and the line bar, to loosen a stuck safety pin. As the pin was struck with a hammer and came loose, the press roll dropped onto the worker's arm. The equipment had not been properly locked out.
Injury Type : Exposure to hydrocarbon vapours  
Core Activity : Service station
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009157580056
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

Workers inside a service station experienced symptoms of exposure to hydrocarbon vapours, including headaches, dizziness, and nausea. Several days earlier, a gasoline spill occurred during a tank truck delivery to the service station. Hydrocarbon vapours had migrated through the ground and entered the service station building through a conduit opening in the foundation.
Injury Type : Strains, bruises
Core Activity : Roofing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009131490132
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A young worker was wearing a personal fall arrest system while removing snow from a sloped metal roof. The worker slipped and fell off the roof. His fall arrest system stopped his fall about 7-8 feet below the roof's edge.
Injury Type : Fractured pelvis, arm
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157410075
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker on the second level of a scaffold fell 15 feet to grade when a guardrail failed to support his weight.
Injury Type : Lacerated fingers
Core Activity : Fish processing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009157490062
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was sanitizing a fish processing machine when one hand was pulled into the conveyor belt.
Injury Type : Suspected carbon monoxide poisoning
Core Activity : Supermarket
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009160310040
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker became ill while using a gas-powered pressure washer to clean the inside of a produce cooler. The worker was able to call for help before collapsing outside of the cooler.
See a hazard alert about workers who died when overcome by carbon monoxide from a portable gas-powered device:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/posters.asp?ReportID=34979
Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009140710197
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

At a logging site, two log truck drivers had a verbal disagreement, then one of the workers repeatedly struck the other.
Injury Type : Concussion, facial injuries
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450131
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

At a landing, the driver of a log truck with a tri-axle trailer could not connect the folding draw bar to the tractor pintle hook. A log loader operator used the loader's grapple to force the draw bar down, and the draw bar was connected to the pintle hook. Later, the load of logs was unloaded at the mill. While preparing to reload the trailer onto the tractor, the driver could not open the pintle latch. He forced the latch with a small tool, and was struck in the face by the spring-tensioned draw bar.
Injury Type : Smoke inhalation
Core Activity : Damp-proofing concrete foundation wall
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009155270050
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

During construction of a 4-storey wood-frame building, a worker was using a propane torch to dry a concrete foundation wall. He unintentionally ignited the exterior wall building paper. The 5-pound fire extinguisher the worker had with him was under-charged and malfunctioned. The flames had reached the second storey by the time another worker retrieved a similar charged extinguisher, while a third worker retrieved a bucket of water. The three workers were able to extinguish the fire from above and below; the worker fighting the fire from above suffered smoke inhalation.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Warehouse operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009165830004
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

As a stand-up lift truck was moving an upright support for a steel pallet rack, the lift truck tipped onto its side.
Injury Type : Gunshot wounds (1 worker, 1 non-worker)
Core Activity : Long-term care facility
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009124770055
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A resident of a long-term care facility shot one worker and shot at another. The police then shot the resident.
Injury Type : Electrical burns
Core Activity : Utility pole installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009156580107
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

During preparations to install a new utility pole, pole claws at the tip of the boom on a utility truck contacted an energized 25-kV line. The current injured a worker leaning against the truck.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Modular home construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450133
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

During construction of a modular home, workers were lifting a roof section using a spreader bar attached to three separate chain hoists. As the roof was lifted, the attachment points (holes drilled in the top truss member) failed. The roof section fell to the ground.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009122700053
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

An electric jackhammer drilled into an energized 12.5-kV duct bank encased in concrete.
Injury Type : Bruised shoulder
Core Activity : Manual tree falling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113820061
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A faller felled a 32-metre-tall cedar tree (a danger tree) that was limb-tied to a 29-metre-tall hemlock tree. As the cedar fell, the hemlock uprooted and fell onto the cedar, causing a 7.6-metre-long slab of cedar to split off and strike the faller.
Injury Type : Lacerations to head (1 worker); minor injuries (2 workers)
Core Activity : Helicopter operations
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113820062
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A helicopter was being used in avalanche control work (avalanche bombing) when it went out of control and crashed. The pilot sustained lacerations, and the two avalanche control workers on board (one of them a young worker) sustained minor injuries.
Injury Type : Minor injuries
Core Activity : Gravel truck operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009113920045
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A tandem gravel truck was travelling on a public roadway with the gravel box in the raised position. The box got caught on a telecommunications line between two utility poles, causing the truck to flip onto its side on the adjacent sidewalk and boulevard. A 14.4-kV power line was seriously damaged as well.
Injury Type : Hand laceration
Core Activity : Railing and awning fabrication
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009156580095
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was cutting a piece of aluminum railing with a chop saw when the piece of railing kicked back and struck the worker.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures, internal injuries
Core Activity : Warehouse operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009147230130
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was standing on a pallet being raised by a forklift. The pallet was lifted about 9 feet to a mezzanine when the worker fell to the ground.
Injury Type : Temporary loss of consciousness, undetermined injuries
Core Activity : Drywalling and drywall taping
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009165870002
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was taping a skylight basket, working from a ladder on a baker's scaffold, when the scaffold tipped over. The worker fell more than 15 feet from the ladder to the floor.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavator operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161530047
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

An excavator contacted an underground 12-kV electrical conductor.
Injury Type : Head laceration
Core Activity : Hotel renovations
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009093710105
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

During renovations, a worker was removing glass mirrors from a wall using suction cups. A glass mirror broke under tension, and a piece of glass struck the worker in the back of the head. The worker was wearing a face shield.
Injury Type : Bruising, pain
Core Activity : Field preparation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157600069
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A farm tractor was pulling a small, open, 4-wheeled trailer/cart in which three workers were seated (on the raised sides in it). One worker fell backwards out of the cart when the "backboard" he was resting against came loose.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Dry land sort facility
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009090580146
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A log loader was unloading a log transporter when the loader struck an overhead 14.4/25-kV energized power line. The electrical contact damaged both the loader and the transporter.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavator operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157520077
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

An excavator was digging to install a new storm sewer when it contacted a high-voltage underground conductor. The location of the conductor had not been accurately determined before the digging started.
Injury Type : Chest and back pain, bruising
Core Activity : Painting concrete pump booms
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157600067
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was lying on his back on a work platform 10.5 feet above grade (the shop floor), painting a section of a raised concrete pump boom. The worker fell from an unguarded end of the platform, struck a parts cart, then landed on the shop floor.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Wholesale warehouse
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009122700047
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A section of a mezzanine used to store files and other materials collapsed due to a structural failure.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Chip truck operation
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009154930116
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A chip truck driver was throwing a tarp rope over his loaded trailer. The rope landed on a 25-kV overhead power line, and the driver felt a small electric shock. The rope and truck remained energized until the rope burned off.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Cheque cashing business
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009143950046
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A masked person brandishing a handgun entered a store and demanded that the worker get money from the safe. The robber left the store when the money was handed over.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : General trucking
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009117930030
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A truck driver was found unresponsive on an asphalt parking lot. He was lying between the tractor and the trailer, and one pant leg was caught on the platform rail.
Injury Type : Stab wounds
Core Activity : Taxi service
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009152480077
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A taxi driver was stabbed by a customer with a knife.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavator operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161480072
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

An excavator was digging out gate pads when it ruptured a natural gas line. The location of the gas line had not been determined before work began.
Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Industrial construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009117080107
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker fell from a landing to grade (5.5 feet).
Injury Type : Fractured vertebrae, lacerations, bruising, loss of consciousness (non-worker)
Core Activity : Building demolition
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009110750197
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

During the demolition of a house, debris struck a non-worker on the sundeck of an adjacent property.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures and lacerations
Core Activity : Installing cabinets
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009156730111
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A cabinet installer had set up his chop saw on an unguarded balcony. The worker stepped on a piece of material used to protect the floors and slipped, falling off the balcony and landing on rocky ground 10.5 feet below.
Injury Type : Concussion (1 worker); crush injuries (1 worker)
Core Activity : Long-term care
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009154900018
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

During load testing of a newly installed ceiling lift, the support anchor failed. The test load fell onto a young worker. A second worker came to assist the first worker and was struck by the falling ceiling track.
Injury Type : Lacerated foot
Core Activity : Barge towing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009157490058
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

An 11.5-metre tug was pulling two barges when the tug sank. The two workers who abandoned ship into a life raft were rescued about 3 hours later. One of them, a young worker, sustained a cut foot.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Drilling and pipe laying
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009158820076
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

During a severe winter storm, the dome of a water treatment facility used for oil and gas drilling fluids collapsed. The dome was air-suspended (like a stadium dome). No one was inside or near the dome when it collapsed.
Injury Type : Fractured ankle
Core Activity : House construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009143950041
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker fell about 10 feet from a ladder.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Taking soil samples
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157270025
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

While taking soil samples, an excavator ruptured a 3/4-inch propane line, causing an uncontrolled release of propane gas. A site survey had been completed, but this line had not been identified.
Injury Type : Possible exposure to asbestos (multiple workers)
Core Activity : Renovation to worksite
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009163100040
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

During renovations at a commercial site, workers may have been exposed to airborne asbestos fibres. Layers of old flooring were removed before a thorough hazardous materials survey had been completed. Safe work practices for handling asbestos were not followed. Workers did not wear appropriate personal protective equipment.
Injury Type : Blunt force injuries to upper body
Core Activity : Pipeline construction
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009163790035
Date of Accident : 2009-Mar

A worker was pressure-testing a recently installed 6-inch natural gas pipeline. At about 1260 psi, the test head weld failed. The worker was injured by the blast force and spray of methanol/water mix.
Injury Type : Abdominal injuries
Core Activity : Seismic drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009144250039
Date of Accident : 2009-Mar

Young worker (ages 15-24)
Worker's experience at this task is unknown

A tracked water hauler vehicle for filling seismic drill units struck a downed tree on the right of way used for access to the seismic program. As the tracked hauler passed the downed tree, a branch from the tree released, sprang up, and broke through the hauler's front window. The limb injured the operator (a young worker) and and broke through the rear window guarding.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Home support
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009163500112
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A home care worker was travelling between client sites in a snowstorm. The vehicle left the road, went down a steep embankment, and struck a tree, fatally injuring the worker.
Injury Type : Broken leg
Core Activity : Moving furniture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157410055
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was preparing to unload office furniture from a raised pallet onto a mezzanine level. As the worker stepped off the forklift, a cracking sound was heard and the load started to fall. The worker tried to get clear but was struck by the falling load.
Injury Type : Bruised leg, undetermined injuries
Core Activity : Warehouse operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157450014
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was injured when the forklift he was operating struck a building support structure.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Gas bar and convenience store
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157520065
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

Two non-workers were shot by an assailant while they were at the gas pumps, fuelling their vehicle. Three workers were in the convenience store at the time of the shooting.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : Carpet installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157410050
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

As a rough-terrain forklift raised a job-built platform to a second-storey window, the platform became unstable. The worker on the platform fell to grade (about 11 feet) and was then struck by the falling platform.
Injury Type : Hypothermia, bruising
Core Activity : Tugboat operation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009157490050
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker fell overboard from a 14-metre tugboat. The worker, who was not wearing a personal flotation device or lifejacket, was rescued about 2 hours later by a fishing boat.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Culvert installation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009159110089
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

During excavation to install a storm drain culvert, the excavator either pushed a large rock into a gas line or its bucket struck the line, causing natural gas to be released. The line had been terminated but it was still connected to the main gas line and charged.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavation work
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009112850078
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

An excavator was removing soil near an exposed 2-inch natural gas distribution line. The bucket inadvertently caught the line and severed it.
Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Integrated forest management
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450098
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was driving a service truck to a logging block when the truck hit a boulder on the highway. The truck rolled over and was a writeoff but the worker sustained just minor injuries because he was wearing his seat belt.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebra, bruising
Core Activity : Oil and gas well drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009158820039
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

As a 30-foot length of casing pipe (7 inches in diameter) was being lowered, the lifting clamp contacted another piece of drilling equipment. The contact caused the latch on the clamp to release and the clamp opened. The suspended pipe dropped and struck a young worker.
Injury Type : Exposure to H2S gas and other injuries (1 worker); exposure to H2S gas (1 worker)
Core Activity : Pipeline maintenance
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009124490021
Date of Accident : 2009-Feb

As workers prepared to launch a pig into an 18-inch sour gas pipeline, the pig trap ruptured upstream of the valve pressuring the launcher. The rupture of the line caused a large release of sour gas, which threw one worker over 30 feet. A second worker escaped to a safe area. Both workers suffered exposure to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas and the thrown worker suffered additional injuries. (Pigging is the process of running a plug down a pipeline to remove water and other contaminants in the line. A pig trap is a riser in the pipeline in which the pipe is brought to the surface to allow for the introduction of cleaning tools or other work processes.)
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Water tanker trucking
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009163790018
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A tandem-axle water tanker was travelling on a resource road. The truck left the road, severing the water tank from the chasis.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Oil and gas well construction and drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009154930085
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

As drill pipe and equipment were being hoisted on a drilling rig, the travelling blocks contacted the crown blocks. The anti-two-block device had been disabled.
Injury Type : Injury to head and neck muscles, possible concussion
Core Activity : Building supplies retail
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009158920060
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A forklift was pushing a street sweeper, steered by a young worker, into a dry storage shelter. The shelter was a space between two metal storage containers, covered by an unsecured flat roof (20 feet by 19 feet) that rested on the containers. The forklift's mast dislodged the roof, which then struck the young worker's head.
Injury Type : Head wound
Core Activity : Balcony railing installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161480056
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was installing railings around a second-storey balcony. The worker fell off the balcony and landed on the concrete driveway 10.5 feet below. There was no fall protection system in place.
Injury Type : Serious injuries to hand and leg
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009155980073
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A loaded logging truck and a crew transport vehicle collided on an active forest service road. The driver of the crew vehicle was seriously injured.
Injury Type : Broken bones
Core Activity : Planer mill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009058250102
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was injured when he slipped on ice.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Pulp mill
Location : BC
ID Number : 2009146890024
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A leak occurred at a primary valve on a chlorine dioxide storage tank at a pulp mill. Nearby homes and businesses were evacuated.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Logging
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450086
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A hydraulic log loader was descending on a debris windrow when it slid, pivoted, and flopped onto its side.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Front-end loader operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009156240051
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

As a front-end loader was removing overburden from a residential lot, it exposed a 2-inch metal natural gas line. The loader operator had been told it was a decommissioned service line. When the bucket lifted the end of the line, the line ruptured and gas was released.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Bridge construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157560086
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A 42-metre concrete pump truck tipped forward, raising the rear of the pump about 3 metres in the air. The outriggers had not been fully deployed before operating the pump.
Injury Type : Fractured and lacerated leg
Core Activity : Painting or wallpapering
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009137290049
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was on a ladder when the feet of the ladder slid out. The worker fell, struck a window sill, and landed on the ladder.
Injury Type : Back injury
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009131490072
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

As a log transporter was being loaded with logs, the driver entered the loading area to connect the air lines for the transport trailers. A piece of log debris dislodged from the grapple load of logs being loaded onto the trailers and struck the driver.
Injury Type : Severe injuries to hand
Core Activity : Trawl fishing
Location : Northwest BC
ID Number : 2009161530024
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A crew member was setting a trawl net from the stern of a fishing vessel when a drum nipple under hydraulic pressure failed. Oil shot toward the worker's hand, causing severe injuries.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavator operation
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009154930070
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

As an excavator cleared ice and snow, it contacted three 25-kV power lines, causing a power outage as well as damage to the machine.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Concrete delivery
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009117080080
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A concrete delivery truck was backing up into an alley. It knocked over a utility pole supporting low-voltage power lines. No traffic control person was being used to assist the driver as he backed up.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Bridge construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157560075
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A heated enclosure at a bridge construction site caught fire. The enclosure contained a 45-gallon barrel of corrosion-inhibiting wax that was being heated overnight. The fire caused melted wax to spill onto the bridge deck.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Drilling and blasting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009137102733
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

During blasting at a new residential development, fly rock struck homes. Numerous workers were in the area but none of them were injured.
See a slide show about a blasting incident in which fly rock damaged several vehicles:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=34853
Injury Type : Heart attack
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450046
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A loaded log truck left a landing on a forest service road. There was fresh snow and the truck, which did not have chains, became stuck a few kilometres away. A skidder came and freed the truck. The truck's operator then installed the chains and the truck headed out again. A short time later the driver had severe chest pain and radioed for help. Other truck drivers provided assistance until a Level 3 first aid attendant arrived from the departure landing.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebra, internal injuries (1 worker); exposure to airborne asbestos (1 worker)
Core Activity : Asbestos remediation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009137102721
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

Two workers were in a ventilation shaft doing high-risk asbestos removal work. One of them tried to manipulate an access ladder in the shaft. He was standing at the edge of a floor, at a height of about 14 feet, when he fell to the bottom of the shaft. There were no guardrails and the worker was not wearing personal fall protection equipment. The second worker was exposed to high concentrations of asbestos fibres when he removed his powered air-purifying respirator to yell for help for the fallen worker.
Injury Type : Eye irritation, headache (2 workers)
Core Activity : Government services
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009112840023
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

Twenty-three workers in an office were exposed to chlorodifluoromethane that leaked from the condenser of a heat pump. Two of the workers required medical attention. It was later found that during an inspection of the 5-ton heat pump, a hatch had been removed. When the hatch was put back, it was secured with a longer screw, which pierced the condenser line. About 12 pounds of the gas were inadvertently released.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Rock scaling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113820050
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

During scaling activities, a rock fatally struck a young worker.
Injury Type : Serious foot injury
Core Activity : Wooden component manufacture
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009154970105
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker's foot was caught between the frame of a scissor feeder hoist and the edge of a pit opening.
Injury Type : Serious injuries to hand
Core Activity : Splitting log blocks into firewood
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157410039
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker suffered serious hand injuries while operating a vertical log splitter.
Injury Type : Contusions, stiffness
Core Activity : Electrical work
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009112850045
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

As a young worker descended a set of stairs, the stairs dislodged from both the upper and lower attachment points. The worker fell 15 feet down the stairwell. The stairs had been detached in preparation for removal and replacement but no effective guarding was in place to prevent inadvertent use.
Injury Type : Fatal (non-worker)
Core Activity : Public transit operation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009154960055
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A transit bus was travelling to a green light when the operator heard a scream and felt a bump. The operator stopped the bus and found a person unresponsive on the roadway.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Gas bar
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113830031
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A shooting took place near the pumps of a gas bar. The lone worker on site was behind a protective barrier and heard the shots but did not see what happened.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Warehouse
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009128220022
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

Goods were being unloaded from a trailer. A worker was operating a sit-down counterbalanced forklift in the trailer when the trailer floor gave way and the forklift fell to the ground.
Injury Type : Lacerated fingers
Core Activity : Building construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009137290035
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker's fingers were lacerated as he used an angle grinder to cut along the perimeter of a window frame.
See a hazard alert about another incident involving an angle grinder:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34966
Injury Type : Fractures, dislocations, lacerations
Core Activity : Waste water treatment plant
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009112850039
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

The upper half (only) of an extension ladder was being used on a concrete floor. The ladder stood at an angle steeper than 1 horizontal to 4 vertical. The plastic end caps of the ladder's feet slid, and the worker on the ladder fell about 15 feet to the concrete.
See a series of posters about safe set-up of ladders:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/StartSafe-Ladders.asp
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009116120046
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

After a restaurant closed, one restaurant worker was leaving the workplace when an assailant placed a cord around the worker's neck from behind. The worker kicked back and the assailant fled on foot.
Injury Type : Undetermined injuries (likely fractures, internal injuries)
Core Activity : Food product manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009147280026
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was manually moving a mobile incline pan conveyor (4.75 feet long, 2.5 feet wide, 8.75 feet high) in an alley. He was later found beneath the tipped-over conveyor.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Auto salvage
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009112850029
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was working beneath a pickup truck supported on two aluminum tire rims lying flat, one stacked on top of the other. He was removing parts when the truck shifted and fell onto him, causing fatal crushing injuries.
Injury Type : Exposure to pepper spray
Core Activity : Public school
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009131490061
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

Someone discharged pepper spray into a school gymnasium occupied by students and one staff member. The school was evacuated, emergency personnel treated the worker and students affected, and exhaust fans were used to ventilate the gym.
Injury Type : Cracked rib
Core Activity : Steel building work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157530038
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was tied to a steel structure while working on a roof. The structure fell away from the building and the worker was pulled off the building. The worker fell 43 feet and landed in a fresh excavation pile.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Integrated forest management
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009160530038
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A pickup truck with four workers collided head-on with an empty logging truck on a forest resource road. No one was injured.
Injury Type : Bruised ribs, internal injuries
Core Activity : Lumber distribution
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157520038
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was under a forklift changing the oil. The forklift's rear wheels were on wooden ramp blocks, the parking brake was engaged, and the transmission was in reverse. The forklift suddenly rolled forward off the ramps. The rear counterweight of the forklift came down on the worker's chest, pinning him to the ground. The wheels had not been chocked.
Injury Type : Fractured foot, lacerations
Core Activity : Low slope roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009163710031
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was relocating a 100-foot propane hose (attached to a portable torch) on a roof. The worker tripped, fell through the plastic pane of the skylight, and landed on the floor about 19 feet below.
Injury Type : Injury to ankle, back
Core Activity : Installation of roof vents
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009116120031
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was installing vents on a roof with a pitch of 8/12. He slid off the roof and fell a total distance of about 32 feet from the roof peak to the ground. The workplace did not have the required written fall protection plan.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : Stringing pipe
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009144250021
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

Workers were laying 24-inch-diameter pipe using a pipeline side boom unit. As the side boom moved forward to get a shorter piece of pipe off a tractor-trailer, its rear lifting hook inadvertently caught a longer piece of pipe. The longer pipe was pulled forward, pinning a worker against the bulkhead of the tractor-trailer unit.
Injury Type : Swelling
Core Activity : Operation of front-end loader
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009163640039
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A front-end loader was scraping debris from a paved road. The leading edge of the bucket struck a catch basin, jarring the machine and causing the operator to strike his head inside the cab.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Sawmill operations
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450125
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A log truck trailer was hoisted on a bay of a trailer hoist for reloading onto a log transporter tractor. As the hoist operator walked back to the cab of his truck, the trailer fell to the ground. The winch cable had been completely unspooled from the drum so that the hoist lifted the trailer in the reverse direction. Reverse winding negates the brake action in the hoisting winch. A similar incident happened in the other bay about 2 months earlier.
Injury Type : Sore back  
Core Activity : Log home construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009058250131
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A prefabricated log home was being loaded onto a flatbed truck. A worker was on the truck using a rope to pull a post into place when the rope broke. The worker slipped off the side of the truck and landed on his back in the snow 8 feet below.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Utility pole installation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009163050038
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

Workers were hand digging to expose a known gas line in a location where a new utility pole was to be installed. A backhoe was cleaning debris from the excavation. As the backhoe knuckled, the outside tooth, which was on an angle, nicked the 1.25-inch gas line. The site was immediately vacated and secured, and no one was injured.
Injury Type : Lacerations, contusion  
Core Activity : Public bus service
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009112840046
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A transit operator was assaulted by three young passengers.
Injury Type : Injuries to head  
Core Activity : Automotive repairs
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009154900009
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

As a worker was repairing the air brake system of a tractor-trailer, he inadvertently cut the clamp on the brake pod. The chamber, which was not caged, sprung off the base of the pod and struck the worker.
Injury Type : Fatal  
Core Activity : Manual tree falling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009161740026
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was falling trees along a highway for roadside clearance. As he was falling an alder 33 cm in diameter at the stump, it barberchaired (split at the base when back cut), kicked back, and fatally struck him.
Injury Type : Temporary loss of consciousness; injuries to head and face  
Core Activity : Painting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161950393
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was standing on a 6-foot stepladder, painting above his head. He fell from the ladder and landed on the concrete floor below.
Injury Type : Crushed fingertip  
Core Activity : Wood product manufacture
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009130570091
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was doing a visual/tactile check of a bundle of oriented strand board (OSB) on a grade line. The worker leaned against the side of the bundle with one hand and checked the cut end with the other. A side press activated and crushed a finger on the leaning hand.
Injury Type : Lacerated fingers  
Core Activity : Chainsaw operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009156160040
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

During a fall and burn operation to eliminate mountain pine beetle, a worker's hand contacted the moving parts of a chainsaw.
Injury Type : Close call  
Core Activity : Power pole and line service
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009155980070
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

An excavator was removing a large rock from a hole dug for a utility pole. The rock slipped out of the bucket and ruptured the exposed 2-inch gas line.
Injury Type : Amputated finger  
Core Activity : Cabinet installation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009116120059
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker's finger was amputated when he inadvertently placed his hand down on a portable table saw that had been left running.
Injury Type : Shoulder/arm injury  
Core Activity : Marine manufacture
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009160850049
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A worker was on a 3-foot stepladder on a boat under construction. An unsecured bulkhead shifted, and the worker fell from the second rung of the ladder and struck an adjacent boat.
Injury Type : Penetrating wound to hand  
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009161750036
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

During framing of an interior wall, a worker's hand was pierced by a 2-inch nail discharged by a pneumatic nail gun.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Burns  
Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009165870024
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A young worker slipped on a freshly mopped floor and put both hands on the grill to break his fall.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Retail liquor sales
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009147050287
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A man entered a workplace and demanded money from the cash register. The workers complied with the robber's demands, and he left the store.
Injury Type : Possible exposure to asbestos
Core Activity : Ferry operation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009162590026
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

Workers may have been exposed to airborne asbestos fibres from sprayed-on vermiculite ceiling insulation that came loose.
Injury Type : Amputated fingertips
Core Activity : Sheet metal fabrication
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009154930036
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was using a power roller to cut sheet metal when his fingers were caught in the machine. The power roller did not have adequate safeguards.
Injury Type : Lacerated fingers
Core Activity : Woodworking shop
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009147280020
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was trimming a narrow piece of fibreboard on a table saw when his fingers contacted the saw's blade.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Tower crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009114550024
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A tower crane was discovered to have a large crack (3 to 5 feet long) in the welded connection of the ring gear mounting flange just behind the turntable bolts.
Injury Type : Fractured bone
Core Activity : Ski hill operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009114550033
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker on a snowmobile was travelling up one side of a ski run while a winch cat was grooming the other side of the run. The winch cat operator had released the tension on the winch cable, allowing the cable to sink into the snow. As the snowmobile reached the top of the run, one of its skis caught the cable. The snowmobile became unstable and the worker on it was ejected.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Landfill operations
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009093690014
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A large underground fire occurred at a landfill operation. Landfill workers stayed a safe distance from the fire.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Interprovincial trucking
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009104270043
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

On a highway, a tractor-trailer left the road, flipped onto its side, and struck trees. The operator later died of his injuries.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Avalanche control
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009163050023
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

An avalanche control blast was set off at a ski hill operation. The blast damaged a lift operator's shack 40 metres away, but the three workers inside the shack were not injured. The blaster had underestimated the blast concussion that would result from the amount of explosive used.
Injury Type : Eye injury
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009112850005
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A framer was working above another worker. A nail from the framer's nail gun deflected and struck the worker below him.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Mobile crane operation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009118870084
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

At a construction site, a mobile crane was placing a load when the operator heard a noise. Subsequent inspection of the boom revealed a structural failure of about 2 inches by 22 inches at the edge of the welded boom.
Injury Type : Fractured wrist
Core Activity : Bridge construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009128230029
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was removing cantilever formwork from a bridge approach when the unsupported formwork suddenly released and struck his arm.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Oil and gas well drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009158820025
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

As an oil and gas well was being drilled, a kick (a release of gas and oil toward the surface) occurred. The kick was felt 10 metres from the targeted completion zone of the well. The weighted drilling mud being used was insufficient to control the influx of gas from the formation. Gas and oil bubbled out of the mud tank at the drilling rig, causing sour gas and condensate to be released onto the well site and into the surrounding atmosphere. Procedures to gain control of the well and to clean the contaminated mud revealed that the surface equipment was undersized. Further releases of contaminated mud occurred, and difficulties and cleanup continued for several days. Emergency response procedures prevented any exposures or injuries to workers.
Injury Type : Crushed foot
Core Activity : Forklift operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009156240026
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was operating an unloaded counterbalanced forklift on flat, snow-covered pavement. The forklift skidded sideways over a mound of frozen snow, then rolled onto its side. The worker's foot was crushed between the forklift and the pavement.
Injury Type : Fractured foot, internal injuries
Core Activity : Delivery of parts to customer
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009120030039
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

An auto service worker (a young worker) was delivering parts to a customer when his vehicle was involved in a motor vehicle accident.
Injury Type : Crushed fingers
Core Activity : Baked goods manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009064400001
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

As a worker was feeding dough into a bun-forming machine, one hand was caught in the in-running feed rolls. The feed rolls were not guarded.
See a video clip about a young worker who lost three fingers in a similar incident:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/Videos.asp?ReportID=34941
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries, bruising
Core Activity : Fire and flood restoration
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009155730002
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

Materials were being removed from a damaged shed when a wall-mounted cabinet fell and struck a worker.
Injury Type : Broken bones
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009110750066
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

As a worker leaned against a guardrail, it gave way. The worker landed on the concrete pad 12 feet below.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009109150505
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

An excavator contacted and ruptured a 2-inch PVC natural gas distribution line. The general location of the line was known but its exact position had not been determined before excavating began.
Injury Type : Upper body fractures and lacerations
Core Activity : Auto service and repair
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009128230025
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was polishing an item with a metal lathe when the item struck him.
Injury Type : Soreness
Core Activity : Cleaning up roofing materials
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157270018
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A young worker was cleaning up debris on a roof with a pitch of 3/12. His lifeline had become slack and was lying on the roof surface. The worker was at a height of about 60 feet when he inadvertently stepped on the lifeline, slipped, and fell off the roof. Because of the slack in his lifeline, he fell about 35 feet before the fall protection system arrested his fall.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Car and truck rental
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009150180012
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

Two customers were in the retail office of a workplace, completing a transaction with the workers. Another person entered the office and shot both customers.
Injury Type : Bruises
Core Activity : Garbage or recyclable material removal
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009120030034
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A transport truck dropped off a 30-cubic-yard garbage bin. The truck's rail, which was held up by twin hydraulic booms, was not lowered before the truck left the delivery site. The raised rail struck a concrete pedestrian overpass about 10 kilometres away. It had severed at least one telecommunications line before striking the overpass.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113820032
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A blaster initiated a blast and gave the all-clear. An excavator began working in the area and inadvertently set off an explosion.
Injury Type : Burns (5 non-workers)
Core Activity : Automotive education
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009155980037
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

Students melted aluminum to pour into a mould to produce an aluminum cylinder for use on a lathe. They placed the mould outside on the snow, and made several attempts to level it. When a student began the pour, the molten aluminum erupted. The student dropped the crucible and the molten metal splashed onto 5 students. There was likely moisture in the mould, which would have caused the molten aluminum to erupt.
Injury Type : Serious burns
Core Activity : Marine vessel repair/modification
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157600011
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A young worker was using an oxyacetylene torch to cut metal rings off a vessel's deck when his clothes caught fire.
Injury Type : Serious injuries to finger
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009140970026
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was repairing a pocket chain on a log sorter. He directed the sorter operator to "drop the pocket." The dropping equipment caught the wrench the worker was using, which in turn pinched the worker's finger.
Injury Type : Neck and shoulder injuries
Core Activity : Manual falling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450028
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A faller was completing a back cut in a 140-foot oversized spruce tree when he was struck by a 9-foot-long fir limb. The hung-up fir limb was hidden in the spruce canopy so he did not see it when taking a last look up before finishing the back cut.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : Window installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161950378
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A mobile mini-crane was being relocated. As it descended a sloped soil grade, it fell onto its side. The crane's operator (a young worker) was crushed and pinned under the machine, which weighed about 2200 kilograms.
Injury Type : Fractured ankle
Core Activity : Firefighting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009160530014
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

Two firefighters were carrying a large bird cage out of a structure that was on fire. One of the firefighters was walking backwards and tripped over a fire hose.
Injury Type : Head injury, fractured bones
Core Activity : Drywall installation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450023
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

As a young worker climbed down the end frame of a baker's scaffold, he slipped and fell to grade (about 6 feet).
Injury Type : Crushed fingers
Core Activity : Industrial equipment manufacture
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009110750050
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was shearing pieces of 3/8-inch square bar on a 110-ton press. As he reached one hand into the press to remove a piece of jammed steel, he inadvertently stepped on the foot pedal, activating the machine.
Injury Type : Serious burns
Core Activity : Foundry
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009112850014
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

As molten metal was being transferred from the ladle to a mould, some of it spilled and burned a worker.
Injury Type : Amputated fingertip
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009058250029
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was releasing tension on the V-belt drive of the 12-31 edger unscrambler. The worker struck the belt with a hammer, which partly released it, then put one hand on the belt to "nudge" it. The rest of the energy released and the worker's hand was dragged around the pulley. The power had been shut off.
Injury Type : Exposure to a hazardous substance
Core Activity : Acute care
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009157580014
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was in a decontamination room changing the glutaraldehyde solution in a cold sterilization tub. The tub had been drained. When the new solution was added, it leaked from the tub and spilled outside of the local exhaust hood and onto the floor. Workers in the room were exposed to glutaraldehyde vapours.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebrae
Core Activity : Integrated logging
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450020
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A loaded log transporter (a tandem/jeep with a tri-axle trailer) swung wide on a bend. The driver brought the transporter to a stop with the trailer wheels overhanging a 55 percent slope. The trailer tipped over and dragged the cab with it down the slope.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Railway maintenance yard
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009070890003
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was using the 5-ton auxiliary hoist of a gantry crane to lower a 600-pound power unit. The hoist's braking mechanism failed and the uncontrolled load fell to the floor, narrowly missing the operator of the hoist and one other worker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161950370
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A self-erecting tower crane was unloading structural steel from a delivery vehicle. As an L-shaped piece of steel was hoisted by remote control, it contacted and damaged energized trolley-bus transmission lines (600 volts), causing them to fall to the ground.
Injury Type : Back injury
Core Activity : House construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009155980020
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

Workers were putting up an exterior wall (19 feet, 2 inches long) without a kicker board. The wall slipped and struck a worker.
Injury Type : Possible exposure to airborne asbestos fibres (2 workers)
Core Activity : Hotel operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009157580013
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

During building renovations, two workers were installing electrical wiring and panelling. They cut through some drywall and disturbed plaster behind it that contained chrysotile asbestos. Both workers may have been exposed to airborne asbestos fibres because there were no precautions to control the release of asbestos fibres and no respiratory protection was worn.
Read a WorkSafe bulletin about the hazard of asbestos during renovations:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34222
Injury Type : Fractured arm
Core Activity : Dive fishing
Location : Northwest BC
ID Number : 2009157490016
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

As a capstan winch was being used to hoist a 200-pound fish bag from the water to the deck of a dive vessel, a worker's arm was pulled into the capstan.
Injury Type : Fractured foot, abrasions
Core Activity : Chimney flashing installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009110110119
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was installing sheet metal flashing on a damp, aged cedar shake roof with a slope of 8:12. The worker, who was not protected by a fall protection system, slipped and fell about 20 feet to the concrete patio below.
Injury Type : Amputated finger
Core Activity : Wooden truss manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157270014
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker reached behind a running circular saw to clear a small wedge of wood that had become stuck in the back plate. The worker's hand contacted the blade of the saw.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009112850003
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker slipped on an icy plywood roof surface. He slid the length of the roof before his personal fall protection system deployed, preventing him from falling to the ground below (about 30 feet).
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Traffic control
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009110750032
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

As a traffic control person stepped onto the roadway to retrieve a cone, a gust of wind blew over a lamp standard. The pole landed where the worker had been standing and the light shattered. The worker was protected from flying debris by multiple layers of clothing.
Injury Type : Undetermined injuries
Core Activity : Institutional construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009090580013
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A telehandler rolled over a steep embankment on a construction site. The operator was wearing a seat belt and stayed in the cab.
Injury Type : Serious burns
Core Activity : Scaffold installation
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009140970018
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was scaffolding an elevated pipe bridge at a pulp mill. As he was moving a 20-foot length of aluminum scaffold tube, it contacted an overhead 69-kV power line.
Injury Type : Chest and head injuries
Core Activity : Structural concrete forming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009163710016
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was stripping concrete formwork from the 5th floor. He was carrying a large piece of plywood when he tripped on a 2x4 and fell 11 feet, 9 inches to the floor below.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures, internal injuries
Core Activity : Tree services
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009137290019
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A manual faller was struck by the tree he was falling.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebrae
Core Activity : Welding services
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009122700014
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker on a roof had just unhooked his fall protection system when he slipped and fell to grade (17 feet).
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Snow removal
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009111970017
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A loader was back-blading snow from against a chain link fence when it pulled off a natural gas regulator and guard posts. The area was safely evacuated.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Highrise residential construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009118870033
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A self-erecting tower crane collapsed while placing a load (during the trolley out process).
Injury Type : Broken bones, internal injuries, lacerations
Core Activity : Structural concrete forming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157410011
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

During flytable erection, workers were separating one truss from a bundle of trusses resting against concrete columns. Six trusses (each 35 feet by 6 feet) fell over and struck one of the workers.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Stevedoring
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009114550009
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was in front of bundles of steel pipe (about 6 inches in diameter and 30 feet long) when the pipe rolled and fatally injured the worker.
Injury Type : Puncture wound to arm
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009116120014
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was coupling an air hose to a nail gun when the nail gun spontaneously fired. Neither the trigger nor the bump tip (safety) device was activated. The nail gun was pointed away from the worker but the nail ricocheted and struck the worker.
Injury Type : Head and neck injuries
Core Activity : Oil or gas well servicing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009124490002
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

Workers were conducting a slick line operation for the purpose of lowering tools down the well bore to de-commission the oil and gas well. When the load line on the picker unit (truck-mounted crane) was inadvertently severed, the load line ball fell. It landed on the well head, then deflected and struck one worker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Gas production
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009153370012
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

During a coiled tubing completion operation at a natural gas well, a malfunction in the coil tubing injector head caused a "runaway" of the coil tubing string into the well bore. The runaway occurred at a depth of about 2400 metres as the coiled tubing was being pulled from the well. The injector head was supported by a truck-mounted crane, and the forces created by the coil tubing runaway caused the crane's turret bolts to fail. The injector head and the crane both collapsed to the ground. The crane operator was not at the controls of the crane and was not injured. The wellhead was damaged below the point where the blow-out preventer (BOP) attaches to the wellhead. Well control would have been compromised if the well had been completed into a natural gas producing formation.
Injury Type : Broken bones in hand
Core Activity : Seismic drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009163790006
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was operating a portable drill on a seismic operation. The worker slipped on ice and one hand went under the auger bit as the worker's other arm activated the auger's down lever.
Injury Type : Undetermined injuries to head
Core Activity : Structural framing for renovation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161770009
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was installing screws into a metal framing bracket, standing on the second or third rung of a wooden stepladder. He fell off the ladder and his head struck a brick fireplace.
Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009163790007
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was in an ATV, following a seismic drill rig to a worksite. As the ATV went up a steep grade, it flipped and rolled over the worker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009161980015
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

The main floor of a 2-storey wood frame housing unit collapsed into the basement and the second floor partly collapsed. No workers were on site at the time.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injury to leg
Core Activity : Supermarket
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009108620002
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A standup forklift struck a second standup forklift, pushing it against a metal barrier and injuring its operator.
Injury Type : Lacerations, bruising, stiffness
Core Activity : Ski hill operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157270008
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was widening an alpine ski traverse with a snowcat when a category 3 avalanche occurred. The snowcat was swept about 100 metres downhill but remained upright and was buried only about halfway up the doors.
Injury Type : Crush injuries to legs
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157270007
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A young worker was unloading scaffold bracing from a cube van. A pickup truck driven by a non-worker backed into the worker, pinning his legs against the van.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450017
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A loaded log transporter was travelling on a public highway in whiteout conditions. The transporter entered the median and rolled. The load spilled into the oncoming lane, completely blocking one direction of the highway.
Injury Type : Crush injuries to arm
Core Activity : Wood product manufacture
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009163790004
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

As a worker was cleaning dust from the photo eye of a bundle lift unit, the machine inadvertently cycled and caught the worker's arm.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Fibreglass product manufacture
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009147050259
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was welding casters onto a 45-gallon drum when it exploded. Parts of the drum struck the worker.
Injury Type : Concussion, multiple fractures
Core Activity : Delivery with truck-mounted crane
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161950365
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

The operator of a mobile crane was rigging a load at the rear of a flatbed trailer. The worker fell from the trailer to the concrete ramp below, a distance of 4.5 feet.
Injury Type : Possible exposure to chlorine gas (4 workers)
Core Activity : Pulp mill
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009140970006
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

After production at a pulp mill had been curtailed for more than a week, the bleach plant began to transfer chlorine dioxide via an outdoor pipe-bridge line. Soon after the transfer began, a leak was detected on one side of the chlorine dioxide plant. Four workers inside the carpenter's shop 30 metres from the chlorine dioxide plant reported being exposed to chlorine dioxide gas.
Injury Type : Head and back injuries
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009120030002
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

As a worker was installing formwork for a bellyard (light stand), he fell to the level below (7.8 feet).
Injury Type : Crush injuries, bruising, lacerations (3 non-workers)
Core Activity : Post-secondary education
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009140060003
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

Students were on an educational outing at a horticultural centre. As students were dumping bales of peat into a soil-mixing hopper, the hopper fell over. The steel hopper was 8 feet tall and weighed about 500 pounds.
Injury Type : Fatal (non-worker); bruising (worker)
Core Activity : Crane truck operation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009117640008
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A flatbed delivery truck equipped with a crane was travelling on a public roadway. As it rounded a blind corner, it was struck by a car that crossed the centre line. The driver of the car (a non-worker) died; the boom truck operator sustained minor injuries.
Injury Type : Burns, broken bones, smoke inhalation (3 workers)
Core Activity : Industrial construction
Location : Fraser Valley
ID Number : 2009137102692
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

As supper was being made at a remote work camp, a massive propane explosion occurred. Three workers were injured and camp trailers were destroyed.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Railway operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157410004
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

An unknown quantity of diesel fuel was inadvertently released from a storage tank at a rail yard. The fuel entered a nearby river but was mostly contained by a log boom. Emergency response workers put a second boom into place and cleaned up the spill.
Injury Type : Severe leg injuries
Core Activity : Repair of logging equipment
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009090580002
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

After changing the swing motor in a tracked processor, workers were checking the machine for oil leaks. One worker stood nearby while another operated the machine. The operator inadvertently bumped the boom extension control lever, causing the boom to strike the back of a shop truck. The truck slid forward and pinned the other worker against a steel workbench.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Siding installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009114550027
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was in a boom lift, about 20 feet above grade, when he was launched from the basket. He was found suspended from the basket in his fall protection equipment.
Injury Type : Facial injuries, bruising
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009155270003
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was descending an exterior scaffold ladder in rainy weather. He lost his hold and fell 13 feet to the ground.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Gas bar
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009143950013
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A worker was conducting the nightly dip checks of underground gas tanks when a person wearing a mask approached from behind. The masked person pointed a gun at the worker and demanded that the worker go inside and open the cash register and the safe. The robber took the money from the register and safe, ordered the worker into the washroom, then wedged the door shut and told the worker to stay inside for 5 minutes. The worker waited, then came out and called 9-1-1.

2008 November - December (updated 6 May 2009)

Injury Type : Facial injuries, dislocated ankle, back pain
Core Activity : Steep slope roofing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009112850016
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker was on a roof installing anchors for a fall protection system. He slipped and fell from the roof to the ground (about 20 feet), striking a hot tub on the way down.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Sawmill operations
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450124
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A log truck trailer was hoisted on one bay of a trailer hoist for reloading onto a log transporter tractor. As the hoist operator walked back to the cab of his truck, the trailer fell to the ground. The winch cable had been completely unspooled from the drum so that the hoist lifted the trailer in the reverse direction. The winch drum braking system does not work in reverse spooling.
Injury Type : Back injury  
Core Activity : House construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009155070015
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A young worker fell from a job-built wooden scaffold to grade (about 15 feet).
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158910249
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A large section of a roof (24 feet by 24 feet) collapsed to the ground. A 12-inch-by-12-inch wooden horizontal header beam supporting roof trusses had failed. No workers were in the immediate area when the roof collapsed.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Paper recycling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009160310006
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

Two pressure meters on the back of a boiler control panel leaked mercury. The mercury fell about 4 feet to the floor below and spread over several square feet. Visual inspection suggested that 250 to 500 millilitres of mercury leaked out.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Grocery store
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145130419
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

The roof of a grocery store partially collapsed under a heavy load of snow and water. No workers or customers were in the store at the time.
Injury Type : Crushed finger
Core Activity : Metal roof fabrication and installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157560010
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A 1,000-foot roll of sheet metal was being installed on a stand, in preparation for use in an extruding machine. The roll was suspended from a hydraulic hoist. One end of the arbour that ran through the centre of the roll was placed in the stand. A worker was pushing on the roll to align the opposite end of the arbour with the stand when the roll suddenly slipped into place. One of the worker's fingers was crushed between the arbour and the stand.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures of leg
Core Activity : Logging
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009160530006
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker was on top of decked logs measuring a 55-foot pine log with a logger's measuring tape. A single log rolled about 2 feet and crushed the worker's leg.
Injury Type : Bruising to upper body
Core Activity : Sanitary landfill operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009116120017
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

At a landfill, a worker was cleaning out the tailgate of a garbage truck when the truck's operator closed the door, trapping the worker's upper body between the door and the tailgate.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Snow removal
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980377
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A road grader was plowing snow from a road when its blade hooked a telecommunications line. One power pole was pulled to the ground, two others were broken, and energized power lines landed within 3 metres of the grader.
Injury Type : Possible exposure to asbestos fibres
Core Activity : Motel renovations
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008157580390
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

Drywall that contained asbestos joint compound was removed from several motel rooms with no precautions to prevent the release of asbestos fibres. The workers who removed the drywall were not protected, nor were different workers who later entered those rooms to complete other work. All may have been exposed to asbestos fibres.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Health product wholesale
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008104270249
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A former employee returned to the workplace during a staff party and shot an employer.
Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Retail building supplies sales
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009102100011
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

At a building supply store, the inventory of doors was being relocated. Some doors were left leaning and not secured. Workers in the area dislodged the doors, which then tipped onto a nearby worker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Mobile crane operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008160850170
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A 20-ton mobile crane was moving steel piles for a pile-driving operation. A pile shifted in the sling, causing the boom to exceed its vertical angle limit. The boom stops failed (structural failure) and the boom fell back onto the winching drums.
Injury Type : Fractured facial bone
Core Activity : Steel or metal wholesale
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009128230001
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker slipped on ice while climbing out of a company truck in his employer's parking lot.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Dry lumber storage
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009154970002
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A section (half) of a dry lumber shed collapsed. Several days later, as plans were being made to remove the material and debris, the remainder of the building collapsed. No workers were in the area when either failure occurred.
Injury Type : Crush injuries
Core Activity : Warehouse operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009110210001
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

At a warehouse loading bay, a worker was about to enter a delivery trailer to unload products into the warehouse. At the same time, a truck driver started to reposition the trailer. The worker fell between the trailer and the docking bay. The driver did not know that a worker had fallen and continued to back up the trailer, pinning the worker.
Injury Type : Serious burn injuries
Core Activity : Building supplies delivery
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117080333
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

The operator of a truck-mounted crane was standing on the ground, using hard-wired pendant controls to unfold the crane's boom. The boom contacted unguarded energized high-voltage power lines overhead.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Brewery
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147280295
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

An automatic elevating device (guided freight hoist) was elevating a load from ground level to the second level. The hoist cable failed, and the loaded platform fell to ground level. The hoist's capacity was 3,000 pounds and the load weighed about 1,800 pounds. The hoist was not registered with the BC Safety Authority.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450411
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

When the boom support brake on a conventional crawler crane failed to hold, the boom contacted a building, and the 4,500-pound load slowly fell to grade. Inspection of the brake systems indicated that they may have been frozen, due to unusually cold temperatures.
Injury Type : Bruised leg
Core Activity : Cold storage plant
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008139860297
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

As a worker was loading packages of frozen food into a tractor trailer, he was struck by a forklift entering the trailer.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Structural metal product fabrication
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163710177
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A mini-crane became unstable and tipped over while lifting a handrail into place. Both the crane's operator and the worker steadying the load were able to jump out of the way.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Building materials delivery
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008161980469
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A 24-ton stiff boom crane truck was set up at a multi-unit residential complex under construction. All outriggers had been deployed, including the front jack. The right front outrigger had been set on a snowbank with the float at a 45-degree angle and about 1 foot off grade. The crane was hoisting a bundle of trusses to the second storey. As the load swung over the right side, the right front outrigger slid off the snowbank and the front of the crane truck slid on the ice. The right front side of the truck dropped about 1 foot. The operator quickly lowered the load, damaging a wood-framed wall in the process.
Injury Type : Electrical injuries to hand
Core Activity : Electrical work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163710176
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker contacted an energized, unguarded 347-volt electrical wire. The electrical equipment had not been completely disconnected and locked out before work began.
Injury Type : Electrical burns
Core Activity : Electrical work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117080330
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker contacted an energized high-voltage conductor in the main electrical room.
Injury Type : Minor head injury, stiff neck
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008136900197
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker was tightening the front binder of the middle bunk section of a logging truck (hayrack). A 16-foot-long log (6 inches in diameter) pivoted out of the front stake and struck the worker's hard hat.
Injury Type : Facial injuries
Core Activity : Exterior brick veneer application
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161770591
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker was dismantling a work platform that was set up on top of an 8-foot-high scaffold. The worker fell to the ground (16 feet).
Injury Type : Crush injuries to foot
Core Activity : Collection of recycling materials
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145130408
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker slipped on snow and fell by the side of a recycling truck. As the truck pulled away, it ran over his foot.
Injury Type : Facial injuries
Core Activity : Security services
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008112840115
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

Due to suspicious activities, a security booth with a security guard had been set up outside a public washroom. A person tried to enter the washroom but was asked to wait because it was fully occupied. The person swung a crescent wrench against the security booth. When the security guard cracked the door open to see what had happened, the person pulled open the door and struck the security guard with the wrench. A second security guard detained the person until the police arrived.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebra (1 worker)
Core Activity : Ski hill operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700243
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A structural failure caused a gondola tower to collapse.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Corrugated cardboard manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008093690287
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A fire destroyed inventory and damaged equipment as well as the building's structure. All workers were safely evacuated. The cause of the fire is being investigated.
Injury Type : Fractured bone, facial laceration
Core Activity : Power line maintenance
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560351
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker was removing a tree that had fallen over power and telecommunications lines and onto the road. The tree had severed the primary power lines and came to rest on the telecommunications cable, which included a 5/16-inch carrier cable. The lines were stretched so tautly that one pole on each side was leaning towards the fallen tree. The worker started to cut the tree on the bank side of the wires but stopped because the wires were stretched towards the road as well as down. To avoid being in the bight (danger zone) of the wires when he completed his cut, he decided to cut on the road side of the wires. As the cut was completed, the wires sprang free. They struck the worker and knocked him 15 feet into the air.
Injury Type : Tingling in hands
Core Activity : Garbage collection
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008154890098
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

As a container was loaded onto a garbage truck, part of the truck severed an energized overhead power line (240 volts).
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Pipeline testing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008153370276
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

Two workers had just completed a hydrostatic test (to 2150 psi) on two 16-inch temporary pig traps (used in cleaning pipelines). One of the workers (a young worker) closed a ball valve to isolate the piping being tested from the recording device and the pressure gauge. The worker then bled off the pressure in the hydrostatic testing connection and in the lines to the recording equipment and gauge. The lines to the recording equipment and gauge were removed, and the worker then began to remove the testing connection from the valve using a pipe wrench. But instead of the testing connection unthreading from the valve, the valve unthreaded from the pipe nipple that connected the valve and connections to the pig traps (which were still pressurized to 2150 psi). The pressure drove the test piping and valve up, and they struck the worker. The injured worker was taken to hospital but died several days later.
Injury Type : Concussion, multiple broken bones and lacerations (1 worker); broken arm, bruising (1 worker)
Core Activity : Bricklaying
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980363
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

Three workers were unloading bricks from a pallet that had been lifted to scaffolding on the third floor of the building. The workers were stacking the bricks on the scaffold walk boards when the scaffold collapsed. One worker fell 31 feet (the ground), and another fell 10 feet (to the third floor). The third worker grabbed rebar on the wall and climbed down to the third floor.
Injury Type : Presumed drowned (1 worker); hypothermia (1 worker)
Core Activity : Shellfish transport
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008157490285
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

When a 35-foot vessel capsized and sank, two workers entered the water. The next day, one was rescued from a remote beach; the second worker remains missing.
Injury Type : Bruising, laceration
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980369
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A loaded logging truck overturned while negotiating a switchback on a forest service road.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Highrise window installation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008116120295
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

During construction of a highrise building, a worker was using a concrete hammer drill to install angle track 2 inches from the edge of the 8th floor. He was standing bent over the drill when the drill bit broke and he fell over the edge. The worker fell about 2 floors before his lifeline became taut and the energy absorber deployed. The worker's fall was arrested 18 inches below the 5th floor, from which he was promptly rescued and found to be uninjured.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550270
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A rubber-tired excavator contacted an overhead telecommunications line, separating it from the utility pole.
Injury Type : Serious foot injuries
Core Activity : Recreational facility
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008110750635
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

As a worker opened a sauna door to check on a patron, the door's heavy glass window fell out and landed on the worker's foot.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Well fracturing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008154930278
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

Well control equipment failed, resulting in the loss of pressure and flow control on a natural gas well.
Injury Type : Facial injuries (1 worker); chest injury (1 worker); temporary loss of consciousness (1 worker)
Core Activity : Industrial/commercial construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161480267
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

Workers were building a 2x4 framed section of hoarding, which was covered with a tarp. A strong gust of wind picked up the tarped section, which struck one worker in the face. Then the wind picked up a sheet of half-inch plywood, which struck the back of a second worker's head. A third worker jumped out of the way of the plywood and was injured by landing on an interior parapet wall.
Injury Type : Undetermined crush injuries
Core Activity : Wooden component manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161480265
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A banded load of 14-foot-long 2x10s was put on a tilt hoist feed line. When a worker cut the banding, part of the load of lumber came down and crushed the worker against another load of lumber.
Injury Type : Facial injuries
Core Activity : Drilling rig repair
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008158820289
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker was straightening a bend in a drilling rig's I-beam (6 by 16 inches) using a 25-ton hydraulic jack and tubular steel (square) spacers. The jack and spacers slipped, and the jack struck the worker in the face.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavation work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161480263
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

As an excavator was digging to extend a storm sewer line, its bucket hit a buried 25-kV conductor.
Injury Type : Multiple broken bones
Core Activity : Guiding trucks at construction site
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158880538
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A traffic control person stopped a vehicle, then turned to make a visual check of another traffic control person. The stopped vehicle moved forward and struck the first traffic control person.
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Seismic slashing and trail clearing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008154930275
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker was thrown from the snowmobile he was operating.
Injury Type : Fractured arm
Core Activity : Warehouse operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157450211
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker was opening the door of a railcar. The door opened faster than expected and the worker fell about 4.5 feet.
Injury Type : Fractured leg, laceration
Core Activity : Fish processing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008139860271
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A forklift was moving frozen fish product on a pallet. A packet weighing about 200 pounds (90 kilograms) fell off the pallet and struck a young worker.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Cleaning glass awning
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008104270240
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker was found lying on a sidewalk about 17 feet below a glass awning. Earlier, the worker had been seen standing on the awning, cleaning the glass.
Injury Type : Concussion, head laceration, abrasions
Core Activity : Retail liquor sales
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008110750630
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker was in a locked liquor store counting the previous day's receipts when a robber dropped a 20-pound rock onto him through a hatch in the attic. The robber then jumped through the same hatch onto the worker. The robber next sprayed the worker with a fire extinguisher. After a struggle, the worker got out of the office into the store but had no keys to get out (he did not think about the fire escape door). He re-entered the office to try to get the keys, and the robber attacked him again, this time with a 3-foot-long 2x2. The robber then exited through a cooler and out the fire door. The robber had brought all the weapons (rock, extinguisher, stick) to the scene.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450401
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

An articulating rock truck was backing up a ramp to deliver a load. It drove off the edge and rolled onto its side. The drop to grade was less than 5 feet, and the operator was not injured.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road work
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450395
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

As a rock drill was being moved from one end of a highway project to the opposite end, its boom snagged a 25-kV overhead power line. The line was dragged 42 feet before it broke and fell to the ground. The worker in the cab of the rock drill stayed there until the power company attended the scene and made it safe for him to exit.
Injury Type : Amputation of fingertip
Core Activity : Waterproofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163640103
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker's finger contacted the blade of the cordless circular saw he was operating.
Injury Type : Crush injuries
Core Activity : Lift truck operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147280274
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

Before daylight, a worker was removing dunnage blocks from 10-foot-long packages of lumber, then rebanding the lumber. A lift truck backed into the packages and pinned the worker between two packages. The lift truck did not have lights to adequately illuminate the direction of travel.
Injury Type : Fractured and bruised fingers
Core Activity : Galvanizing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147280272
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

Two workers were using two hoists and chain slings to handle a load of galvanized steel guardrails weighing 3091 kilograms. One of the workers (a young worker) was manipulating a sling by hand when the load shifted, catching his hand between the sling and the load.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Bridge construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560328
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

During the placement of concrete, a 30-foot section of overhanging bridge deck formwork collapsed.
Injury Type : Injuries to foot
Core Activity : Planing mill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008126770196
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A young worker followed written safe work procedures to clear a jam in a waste conveyor. He then exited the conveyor in a way that was not safe, through an area where a sawdust conveyor was in operation. As the worker stepped over the sawdust conveyor, the carrier chain caught his foot and pulled it around the head spool. A co-worker immediately turned off the power to the carrier chain and extricated the injured worker.
Injury Type : Fractured legs
Core Activity : Metal fabrication and welding
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008140710780
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker was trying to turn over a fabricated steel catwalk (3 feet by 40 feet) using a lift truck and a come-along winch. The catwalk rotated toward the worker, crushing his legs against the forks of the lift truck.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450397
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

As a log transporter was turning a corner on a public highway, its front stake and bunk assembly failed and the transporter lost its full-length load. A welder had replaced the cable-secured log stakes with fixed stakes welded with a gusset in each corner at the stake/bunk intersect. The modifications were completed without drawings or engineering. The rear bunk modifications also showed signs of failure.
Injury Type : Cuts, strains, bruises
Core Activity : Tree trimming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157570305
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A grounds worker was on a tripod-style ladder trimming a tree. A branch swung downward and struck the ladder's support leg. The ladder tipped and the worker fell about 7 feet.
Injury Type : Puncture wound to hand
Core Activity : Steep-slope roofing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154970553
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A young worker was using a pneumatic nailer to apply asphalt shingles when a 1.25-inch nail was discharged into his hand.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Removal of sidewalk
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158880524
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A backhoe was removing a municipal sidewalk that crossed a residential driveway when the bucket's teeth caught a gas line. The line separated from a coupling and gas leaked out.
Injury Type : Fractured arm, abrasions, bruising
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700238
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker was throwing debris off a 4th-floor balcony when he lost his balance and fell into the garbage bin below. No guardrails were in place.
Injury Type : Injuries to head and chest
Core Activity : New house construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154960307
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A 29-foot-long structural beam was being installed 8 feet, 3 inches above the floor. The beam fell towards a worker standing on a job-built ladder, and the worker landed on the floor beneath the beam.
Injury Type : Lacerated fingers
Core Activity : Fibreglass manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117930153
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A worker's fingers contacted the blade of a chop saw.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Gas well drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008153370247
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A crew was drilling a horizontal section of a natural gas well when they noticed an influx of natural gas out of the rock formation into the well bore (a gas kick). They stopped drilling and circulated the well, while weighting up (increasing the density of) the invert drilling mud (hydrocarbon-based drilling fluid) to stop the gas from entering the well bore. While circulating the well, 20 cubic metres of invert fluid was lost into the rock formation. Once control of the well had been regained, the well was flowed so that some of the lost invert fluid could be recovered. However, gas came to surface, causing the invert drilling fluid to spray out of the mud tank and onto the drilling rig. At the same time, a leak was discovered in the piping between the manifold shack and the de-gasser. The well was shut in using the hydraulic control (HCR) valve off the blow-out preventer so the leak could be repaired and pressure readings could be taken. The pressure in the well eventually exceeded the maximum allowable casing pressure, so the well was opened to flare. When the HCR valve was opened to allow the well to flow directly to flare, the piping between the blow-out preventer and the choke failed, causing an explosion. The explosion ignited the invert mud that had sprayed onto the rig, as well as the invert still in the mud tanks. The crew again shut in the well, this time using the pipe rams of the blow-out preventer. They attempted to extinguish the fire but the heat from the burning invert caused the blow-out preventer to fail. Control of the well was lost and the drilling rig was destroyed in the subsequent well blow-out and fire. No workers were injured.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Well drilling work
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008154930279
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

While managing a well difficulty, well pressure overcame control measures, resulting in drilling pipe being shot out of the well into the derrick and well control being lost.
Injury Type : Head injuries, multiple fractures
Core Activity : Residential construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008152480288
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was on an extension ladder installing soffits when he fell to the ground (about 15 feet).
Injury Type : Broken bones, laceration
Core Activity : Dump truck operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560320
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A dump truck driver was accessing a tool box below the dump box while an excavator loaded the truck. As the excavator was being repositioned, it ran over the truck driver's foot.
Injury Type : Concussion
Core Activity : Vehicle recovery
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008158820291
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

Two workers were loading a stranded vehicle when the hook slipped and the cable whipped. As one worker reacted, he slipped on the ice, struck his head, and lost consciousness.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebrae
Core Activity : Electric utilities work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157270404
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was descending a 14-foot fixed ladder into a sump. He lost his footing and fell to the sump floor (about 7 feet), where he struck a pump footing.
Injury Type : Inhalation of chlorine gas
Core Activity : Cheese manufacturing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147100158
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was using cheese-making equipment as it was being cleaned. The stages of cleaning included several water rinses as well as a chlorinated caustic wash and an acid wash. When the acid wash cycle began, the worker noticed a strong chlorine odour and experienced breathing difficulties. The worker was able to get out of the area, and the building was evacuated.
Injury Type : Extensive bruising
Core Activity : General trucking
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008163270107
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

In an incident of road rage, one truck driver was physically assaulted by another.
Injury Type : Broken pelvis, cracked vertebra, sprain, laceration
Core Activity : Skylight installation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008110750596
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was installing skylights on a frosty roof with a pitch of 6/12. He was 15 feet from the edge of the roof when he lost his footing, slid down the roof, and fell 20 feet to grade. The landing area contained a concrete ledge, a pile of lumber, and scaffolding. The worker missed all those materials and landed on hard-packed dirt. No fall protection system was in place.
See a hazard alert about a similar incident in which a worker fell off a frosty roof:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/publications/posters.asp?reportID=35034
Injury Type : Leg abrasions
Core Activity : Structural formwork
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163640095
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

Two workers were trying to free a flytable that had become stuck on reinforcing steel at the edge of a building. The table sprang free unexpectedly, striking one worker on the leg and dragging the other worker off the 28th floor. His fall was arrested by his personal fall protection system.
Injury Type : Fractured pelvis
Core Activity : Metal roofing installation
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008140710754
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was installing roofing metal when he fell off the roof from a height of about 20 feet. No fall protection system was being used.
Injury Type : Amputated fingertip
Core Activity : Food product manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158750227
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was injured while doing maintenance on equipment in use for normal production.
Injury Type : Serious injuries to 3 fingers
Core Activity : Bridge construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560315
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker's gloved hand was snagged by a winch cable and pulled into a sheave pulley.
Injury Type : Serious lacerations
Core Activity : Trucking
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158750236
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

As a worker was manually unloading cartons from a container, he was struck by the clamp attachment of a lift truck.
Injury Type : Serious injury to finger
Core Activity : Bricklaying
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157270383
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A young worker was steadying a wheelbarrow as a skid-steer front-end loader placed gravel in it. The wheelbarrow collapsed to the ground, crushing the worker's hand.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Water line installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157270402
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

An excavator was digging a trench for a water line when it struck a 14.4-kV conductor about 3 feet below the surface. The location of underground utilities had not been accurately determined before digging began.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Electrical renovations
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240309
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

As a worker was removing feeder wires from a control panel, two energized 600-volt conductors made contact. An arc flash occurred and the circuit breakers tripped, but the worker was not injured. The worker had not confirmed lockout with a test meter before starting work on the circuit.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Rebar installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950340
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

Two workers were installing rebar (15 mm by 1 metre) into a suspended slab on the 5th floor. The rebar extended beyond a perimeter guardrail and broke an energized 12-kV overhead power line. The line fell to the ground, causing a power outage.
Injury Type : Abrasions, lacerations, fractures
Core Activity : Traffic control
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008158180215
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A traffic control person was struck by a transport vehicle and dragged about 75 metres.
Injury Type : Broken ribs, internal injuries, strains
Core Activity : Residential construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008160530352
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A construction worker climbed onto a lift of plywood that a crane was hoisting to a second-level window opening. The worker broke the metal band securing the load, the load shifted, and the worker fell to the ground (about 15 feet).
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Public school
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240288
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

Entering a school in the morning, staff smelled gas. The building was immediately evacuated and the fire department was called. As the fire department was investigating, an explosion occurred in the heating system. There were no injuries.
Injury Type : Head and back injuries
Core Activity : Paint booth disassembly
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008120030291
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

An automotive paint booth was being dismantled. A worker standing on the booth's unsecured roof panel fell just over 9 feet to the concrete floor below.
Injury Type : Arm contusion
Core Activity : Tree pruning
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008139860250
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was in the bucket of a bucket truck, trimming trees. A second worker was assisting by standing on top of the truck (below the bucket) and pulling back branches. The worker doing the trimming contacted a secondary power line (120/240 v). The worker on the truck was sent backwards and hit the bottom of the lift turret.
Injury Type : Serious foot injuries
Core Activity : Low-slope roofing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008110750578
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A young worker was installing an anchor 16 feet from the edge of a roof with a pitch of 4/12. There was frost on the 2x6 tongue-and-groove decking. The worker lost his footing and slid down the roof on his belly, then fell to the pavement 16 feet below. The worker was wearing a harness but was not tied off.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Logging road construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008152480271
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A crawler tractor struck an undetonated blasting cap and partial stick of dynamite, causing them to explode. Fortunately, no workers were injured and no equipment was damaged. Blasting had been done on the site earlier the same day.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Scuba diving instruction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700224
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A dive instructor surfaced in distress after a 100-foot, advanced-level dive.
Injury Type : Serious wounds
Core Activity : Cedar block salvage
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008158930259
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A forestry worker was mauled by a grizzly bear. The worker was in an area where a helicopter was moving cedar blocks.
Injury Type : Facial laceration
Core Activity : Mill cleanup
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154970539
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was trimming cedar block ends with a gas-powered chainsaw. The chainsaw kicked back and struck the worker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008111110533
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A bundle lift malfunctioned, causing four load line cables to fail. The lift, weighing 52,000 pounds, slid down its tracks into 4 metres of water. No workers were injured.
Injury Type : Crush injuries to fingertip
Core Activity : Structural metal fabrication
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008116120276
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was using an electromagnetic lifting device attached to an overhead crane to reposition a large steel plate (weighing about 300 pounds) inside a machining centre. The worker held the crane pendant in one hand and was using his other hand to guide the steel plate when the plate suddenly fell to the work surface (about 1 foot). The electromagnetic lifting device had been placed partially over a hole in the plate.
Injury Type : Widespread contusions, bruising
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008137160154
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

An empty off-highway log transporter failed to negotiate a corner on a logging road. It rolled 125 feet down a steep embankment.
Injury Type : Penetrating wound to leg
Core Activity : Residential framing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161290363
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

During framing, a worker slipped on blast rock around a new concrete foundation. As the worker fell backwards, his boot struck the foundation and the nail gun he was holding fired a 2.25-inch nail into his leg. The nail gun was set on the safest setting, sequential trip.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Amputation of 2 fingers
Core Activity : Paving stone manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008137102677
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was injured while cleaning a mixing machine that was shut off. The machine was inadvertently started when another worker replaced an emergency stop button on the main electrical operations panel. The mixing machine was interlinked with other equipment that was not correctly locked out.
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Tree services
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008070890110
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A faller was climbing a ponderosa pine to thin the canopy. While repositioning himself to place his lanyard around the trunk, he grabbed hold of a branch. The branch broke and the worker fell to the ground (about 14 feet), shearing off other branches in the fall.
Injury Type : Bullet wounds (1 worker, 1 non-worker)
Core Activity : Gas station with convenience store
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008156580343
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A gas station was robbed at gunpoint. A young worker and one non-worker were shot.
Injury Type : Inhalation and skin exposure to an unidentified hazardous substance (2 workers)
Core Activity : Garbage and recycling removal
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008130260153
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

Two workers were placing residential waste material into a rear-loading garbage truck when they experienced symptoms of exposure to a hazardous substance (dizziness, difficulty breathing, numbness of the tongue, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting). A hazardous materials crew decontaminated the workers before they were taken away by ambulance.
Injury Type : Concussion
Core Activity : Recycling pickup
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157530312
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was riding on the right-hand side step of a recycling truck. When the vehicle made a left turn, the worker was thrown from the truck to the pavement.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Residential construction
Location : Northwest BC
ID Number : 2008136970237
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was standing on a job-built wooden scaffold, preparing to sheathe the roof of a house under construction. A lift of plywood was suspended from the hook of a mobile crane adjacent to the scaffold. The worker cut one of two metal bands restraining the plywood. When the band released, the load became unstable. The worker fell to the ground (about 9.5 feet) and the plywood landed on top of him.
Injury Type : Fatal (7 workers); undetermined injuries (1 worker)
Core Activity : Industrial construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008113820295
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

An aircraft carrying seven workers and the pilot crashed.
Injury Type : Crush injuries to fingers
Core Activity : Metal product fabrication
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161480238
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was braking small strips of metal with a 150-ton hydraulic brake press when his hands inadvertently contacted the point of operation. The point of operation was not safeguarded to prevent injury.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157270368
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

After two workers had a verbal disagreement, one left the site. When the worker returned, a second confrontation occurred. One of the workers produced a handgun and fired near the other worker's feet and into the air. The worker then left the site and was arrested shortly after.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008157440234
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A loaded logging truck backed into the front of a logging truck parked behind it. Two logs went through the windshield of the parked truck, pushing through to the bulkhead behind the cab. The driver of the damaged truck was not in the cab at the time.
Injury Type : Undetermined injuries
Core Activity : Exterior finishing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154970515
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A young worker on a third-storey scaffold lost his balance. He fell 5 feet through a window opening into the building, striking his head on the concrete floor. The scaffold was not adequately guarded, and no other fall protection system was being used.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Retail store
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154970527
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

Workers at a retail store spotted three red tubes strapped to the handle of a door beside the main entrance. Police in a bomb squad used a robot-like tool to remove the device. Examination revealed it was a fake.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : Drywalling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154960296
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was on a ladder, placing drywall compound in a skylight opening. The ladder was set on a paper barrier to protect the floor. The ladder slipped on the paper, and the worker fell 9 feet.
Injury Type : Neck and shoulder injuries
Core Activity : Integrated forest management
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008158920262
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A faller was attempting to fall a fir tree uphill when he was struck by a balsam snag. The fir was 15 inches in diameter. The snag was 7 inches in diameter and 47 feet tall.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Setting up drilling rig
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008124490147
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

Workers were setting up a drilling rig on a new location. The mast of the rig was being positioned using two 40-ton picker trucks (crane trucks) in conjunction with two oilfield bed trucks (large trucks equipped with an A-frame and winch for hoisting). The bottom section of the mast had been hoisted about 6 feet into the air to attach it to the drilling rig's A-frame legs when the turret bolts on the crane of one of the picker trucks failed. The load dropped, and the crane's boom fell and struck the cab of the second crane. The operator's house and counterweights were damaged, but the workers in position to insert the A-leg pins were unhurt.
Injury Type : Exposure to anhydrous ammonia (3 workers)
Core Activity : Food processing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008108440168
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

An evaporator cooling unit failed in the freezer of a food processing plant, causing the release of anhydrous ammonia gas. Sixty workers were evacuated from the plant and three of them (including one young worker) experienced respiratory distress.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : Truck and trailer repair
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008113830248
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

One worker was under a semi-trailer, viewing an area needing repair. Another worker, not realizing the first worker was underneath the trailer, moved the vehicle ahead 15 feet.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Auto service or repair
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161290355
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was replacing the transmission in a truck with a 1.5-ton capacity. The front end of the truck was supported by two 6-ton jack stands, and the passenger side was jacked up to increase the clearance by 2 inches. As the transmission was slid under the truck, both jack stands failed. The worker was not injured. The GVW of the truck was reportedly 7.25 tons with a total front-loaded axle weight of 3 tons.
See a hazard alert about the use of blocking to prevent injuries from elevated equipment:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=35166
Injury Type : Deep laceration to hand
Core Activity : Educational institution
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161480232
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

Sawdust had built up beneath a table saw. A worker turned off the saw, then reached under to clear the debris. The worker's hand contacted the saw blade, which had not come to a complete stop.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Tower crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117080304
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A tower crane was lifting a load when the chain separated from the hook. The load dropped about 2 feet (onto the street). Part of the hook that is attached to the chain sling had broken.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Concrete building construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450368
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A tower crane was extracting a fence post embedded in concrete when it was shock-loaded. The tip of the boom was reported to have deflected excessively during the process.
Injury Type : Fractures, lacerations
Core Activity : Steep-slope roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161480229
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A young worker was rolling out and stapling tar paper on a wet roof with a slope of 11:12. He fell to the ground (27 feet). No fall protection system was in place.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Highrise exterior restoration
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700212
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A balcony door was being unloaded from a material hoist. It fell 17 floors to grade.
Injury Type : Undetermined back injuries
Core Activity : Wholesale delivery
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145130379
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A delivery worker slipped and fell down a set of 11 concrete stairs. The buildup of a greasy substance on the stairs made them very slippery.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Retail pharmacy
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163270097
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A robber went to the pharmacy at the back of a store and handed a worker a note demanding two different prescription drugs. The robber claimed to have a gun and warned of dire consequences if the demand was not met. The pharmacy worker handed over the drugs, and neither this worker nor the other three in the store were harmed.
Injury Type : Serious injuries to hand
Core Activity : Commercial printing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008110750534
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was doing maintenance on a commercial printing machine when one hand got caught between the 4-foot-long rollers.
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Structural concrete product manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700210
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker's leg was caught between two hinged sections of a metal sign frame.
Injury Type : Exposure to a hazardous substance or atmosphere
Core Activity : Restoration work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008125290362
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A broken water main caused mud, sand, and water to breach and lift part of the concrete foundation of a 2-storey residential complex. During restoration activities, a worker went into the crawl space to scoop mud into garbage bags so it could be removed. As the worker exited the crawl space into the home above and then headed outside, he experienced headache, dizziness, disorientation, and difficulty breathing. No hazard assessment had been conducted for the confined space.
Injury Type : Minor injuries (non-worker)
Core Activity : Post-secondary education
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145130375
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

As a piece of theatre-style scenery was being rigged to the roof support system, it collapsed and fell to the stage (30 feet). The scenery weighed about 250 pounds.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : Stucco work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700211
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker slipped and fell about 24 feet (to grade) from a scaffold work platform.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161480239
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

An excavator was working around a buried natural gas line when it contacted a 2-inch stub attached to the main gas line.
Injury Type : Cuts, scrapes, bruises  
Core Activity : Harvesting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009160530097
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A feller buncher was working on a slope of 40 percent. The operator reached uphill to pull a felled bunch of trees closer to a skid trail below the machine. After the logs were released from the buncher arms, the buncher became unstable and rolled over backwards.
See a slide show about a skidder that became unstable and rolled 400 feet downslope:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=35280
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Gas bar and convenience store
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008095610297
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

Two young men brandishing a knife and a small axe, and apparently under the influence of drugs, entered a gas bar/convenience store. They ordered the worker to move away from the till, took the cash, and left.
Injury Type : Back pain
Core Activity : Excavation work
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009113920009
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A worker was struck in the back by a slab of dirt that broke away from the wall of an excavation. As the worker was clearing away that dirt, another slab of dirt broke away and struck him.
Injury Type : Contusions and muscle strains
Core Activity : Excavation to repair drain pipe
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009108440207
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

To access a basement drain pipe, workers hand dug an 8-foot-deep excavation (30 inches wide) under a sundeck. A large boulder (3 feet by 3 feet) was embedded in one side wall of the excavation. One worker was in the trench when that wall collapsed at chest height.

2008 September - October

Injury Type : Exposure to H2S gas (3 workers)
Core Activity : Re-working an oil and gas well
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008154930234
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

As hydrochloric acid was being transferred from a tank truck to a vacuum truck, hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) was discharged through the pressure relief valve on the vacuum truck. Three workers were exposed to the gas, including one worker who lost consciousness and had to be revived with CPR.
See a slide show about the hazard of H2S with tanker trucks:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=33842
Injury Type : Laceration
Core Activity : Gas bar
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008163050097
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

During an altercation with an intoxicated customer, a worker bent down to retrieve items from the lower bin of a cash/drop box. As the worker did so, the customer pushed the smaller top drawer into the worker's face.
Injury Type : Neck injury, bruising, laceration
Core Activity : House renovation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155270319
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker fell about 12 feet when the extension ladder he was climbing slipped away from its base.
Injury Type : Fractured ankle
Core Activity : Planer mill
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008157440238
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A 16-foot 2x6 had fallen out of a bundle of lumber on a transfer chain. As a worker moved between two transfer chains to try to pound the board back into place, the load stopped automatically. The equipment had not been locked out, and when the transfer chain started up again, the load caught the worker's foot.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : Pile driving
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008093720251
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was cutting off a platform on a drilling rig. When the platform came off, the worker was tossed to the ground (about 15 feet below). No fall protection system was in place.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008118870730
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

Mobile equipment installing a surface drain inadvertently struck a 3-inch gas line.
Injury Type : Soreness
Core Activity : Delivery of building materials
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008159110230
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

The driver of a delivery crane truck was on the truck's deck, slinging a load of building materials. A pile of 2x4s (10 feet long) were on the deck. The worker slipped off this lumber and fell to the ground.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Storm line installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008113830239
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

During excavating, an encased concrete conductor was uncovered. The owner of the line told workers that it was not active and could be removed. When removed, it was found to have live 600-volt electrical lines running through it. New lines had been laid over the old terminated lines.
Injury Type : Fatal (2 workers); strains (1 worker)
Core Activity : Silviculture
Location : Northwest BC
ID Number : 2008157490272
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A marine landing craft was transporting seven silviculture workers from a logging camp to the work area when it took on water and foundered. Three workers ended up in the water, and two of those workers drowned.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Utilities installation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008109150466
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

An excavator was attempting to locate a natural gas distribution line. It contacted and ruptured the line at a service tee.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Tower crane operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970399
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A tower crane was lifting a load of heating duct materials from ground level to the 13th floor. The load caught a corner of the 12th floor fly form. The fly form broke loose and fell to ground level.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Electrical work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117080296
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

Two workers were energizing a switching gear in the main electrical room. A huge arc flash occurred and the electrical room filled with smoke.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240267
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A young worker was on the fourth step of a 6-foot aluminum stepladder when the ladder's frame collapsed. The worker fell to the concrete floor. The ladder, designed for light commercial use only, was not suitable for the workplace.
Injury Type : Shattered bones
Core Activity : Boarding and taping
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158880476
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was on a scaffold applying drywall compound to a ceiling. The worker fell from the scaffold to the ground (5 feet).
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Asphalt breaking
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550245
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

An excavator was working under an energized 12-kV system when two power lines landed on it.
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Tree services
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008140970533
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A grounds worker felled a 20-foot-tall tree. The limbs of the tree struck a second worker, pushing him to the ground.
Injury Type : Exposure to diesel exhaust, including carbon monoxide (5 workers)
Core Activity : Building material supply and delivery
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008111770138
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

Workers in a warehouse experienced light-headedness, blurred vision, bad headache, and nausea. A delivery truck outfitted with a crane was idling inside the warehouse while building materials were offloaded. Its diesel exhaust affected five workers, including three young workers.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550243
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

An excavator contacted an underground gas line.
Injury Type : Lacerated arm
Core Activity : Retail sales and installation services
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008160530321
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker reached for the controls of a forklift from outside of the machine. He intended to lower the forks but inadvertently lifted them, causing his arm to become pinned between the forks and the mast's headlight assembly.
Injury Type : Burns
Core Activity : Repair of commercial vessel
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008134520163
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was spray painting in the steering compartment of a marine vessel. A flashover fire erupted, and the worker's polyethylene suit caught fire.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Health care facility
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008162590098
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A container of a potentially explosive material (crystallized picric acid) was discovered in a health care facility. The facility was evacuated and a bomb squad removed the hazard.
Injury Type : Injured ribs, cuts, and bruises
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008140970525
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A loaded logging truck went off the road.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008101920193
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A log hauling truck tipped onto its side when the over-length logs it was carrying struck a road bank.
Injury Type : Broken bones, lacerations
Core Activity : Hand digging for power pole installation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008113820270
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker in an isolated work area slipped and fell partway down a steep rock face about 120 feet high.
Injury Type : Broken ribs, soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Equipment rental
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145130358
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was doing mechanical work on a forklift in a parking lot. He was struck by a moving aerial manlift.
Injury Type : Facial injuries, possible concussion
Core Activity : Retail store
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008104270207
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was standing on the deck of a 5-ton truck. He was near the back, assisting a forklift operator at ground level, when he lost his balance. The worker fell to grade (4 feet), striking his head on the asphalt.
Injury Type : Injury to shoulder, back
Core Activity : Manual tree falling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008158920241
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A faller was struck by a green hemlock tree that fell out of a stand of timber. The hemlock was 12 inches in diameter and 30 metres tall. It had been standing 11 metres inside the timber and there was evidence of root rot.
Injury Type : Undetermined injuries
Core Activity : Traffic control
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700200
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A traffic control person was injured when a driver ran a red light and hit a towable light tower, which struck the worker.
Injury Type : Broken bones, bruising
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008111110513
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker fell from a catwalk and landed in a stopped hog return conveyor 20 feet below.
Injury Type : Contusion, lacerations, mild concussion
Core Activity : Framing or residential forming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008110110076
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was standing on top of a foundation wall (2x6 sill plate) sweeping debris. The worker slipped and landed on the concrete footing and construction debris 4.5 feet below.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures, internal injuries
Core Activity : Plumbing installation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008101920192
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker fell down 3 flights of stairs because of unsecured stair stringers.
Injury Type : Temporary loss of consciousness, impact injuries
Core Activity : Seine fishery
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008113820266
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A crew member was struck by a tow rope that broke while under tension.
Injury Type : Injury to ankle
Core Activity : Auto service or repair
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163730085
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was on a stepladder. When he completed the job and started down the ladder, he lost his balance and fell approximately 3 feet.
Injury Type : Fatal (1 worker); undetermined injuries (1 worker)
Core Activity : Electrical work
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008131490237
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A pickup truck collided with an oncoming tractor-trailer unit on a highway. The worker driving the pickup truck died.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Window repairs
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008139860209
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was near the top of a 6-foot stepladder that was collapsed and leaning against a wall, with its base on soft dirt. The worker fell from the ladder and landed on a large rock.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : General trucking
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008137102631
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

The driver of a truck was trying to disconnect the trailer from the tractor unit. The trailer unexpectedly fell off the tractor unit, hit the ground, and tipped onto its side. The load in the trailer weighed about 44,000 pounds.
Injury Type : Lacerations, soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Road paving
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980294
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

An 18-ton rubber-mount asphalt roller was rolling new pavement when its braking and steering mechanisms failed. The machine veered off the low side of the road and rolled about 100 feet down an embankment, landing in a creek and injuring the operator (a young worker).
Injury Type : Serious burns
Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008140710699
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

Hot oil had recently been drained from a restaurant's deep fryer into buckets. The buckets were sitting on the floor. A young worker inadvertently knocked one over, then slipped and fell into the hot oil.
Injury Type : Burns
Core Activity : Daycare facility
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008110750474
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A boiling kettle fell onto a young worker cleaning in a meal preparation area.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Travel services
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008113830223
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A young worker was held at gunpoint during a robbery in a shopping mall.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155400344
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

An electric heat gun ignited caulking and gluing materials on a second-storey deck. As the glue and caulking materials vaporized, the fumes became a large fireball. Three workers extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived.
Injury Type : Injury to foot
Core Activity : Mechanical work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117080286
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker fell 5.6 metres into the sump of a sanitary lift station.
Injury Type : Serious injuries to fingers
Core Activity : Planer mill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008160530311
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A sawmill worker was trying to find the cause of a jam-up of two pieces of 1x4 lumber in a planer. The machine was running and the worker's safety vest got caught. As the worker turned to summon help from another worker, he lost his balance. One hand contacted the rotating planer knives.
Injury Type : Undetermined injuries (2 workers)
Core Activity : Forestry operations
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157600205
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

Two workers left a forestry operation in a marine vessel. The boat struck an object, the hull cracked at the stern, and the vessel took on water. The workers used the vessel's VHF radio to call for help, donned flotation devices, and entered the water with a handheld VHF radio. The boat sank about 600 metres from shore. The workers were eventually rescued by workers from a nearby logging camp and a fish farm.
Injury Type : Exposure to products of combustion and/or fire extinguisher powder (2 workers)
Core Activity : Planer mill
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147280230
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A fire broke out in a downdraft ventilation duct at the end sealing station of a lumber packaging unit. Two workers in the area extinguished the fire.
Injury Type : Sprains, scrapes, bruises
Core Activity : Steep-slope roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161760608
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker fell about 17 feet from the steep slope roof of a 3-storey house. The worker's fall protection equipment arrested his fall after he had broken through a wooden scaffold at the second level.
Injury Type : Injury to lower leg
Core Activity : Grinding concrete walls
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950315
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker fell from the second-floor balcony to the concrete slab below (13.5 feet).
Injury Type : Internal injuries, multiple fractures
Core Activity : Interior painting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008163050085
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker fell about 30 feet from a ladder set up on a decked-off rolling scaffold two stages high. The wheels of the scaffold had not been locked, and the worker was not wearing personal fall protection.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700195
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A 200-foot section of pre-load roadway failed.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Firefighting
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008110750476
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

While responding to a fire call, a worker wearing full gear tripped and fell on an uneven sidewalk.
Injury Type : Chest injuries
Core Activity : Roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008156730566
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was removing a wet tarp from a roof when he fell 12 feet to a lower roof surface. No fall protection system was in place.
Injury Type : Temporary loss of consciousness, hairline fractures, cuts (worker); cuts, soft-tissue injuries (non-worker)
Core Activity : Flying school
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008120030248
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

During a training exercise, an instructor and student were injured when their helicopter crashed to the ground.
Injury Type : Minor injuries (non-worker)
Core Activity : Tree services
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145130350
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A 140-foot-tall Douglas fir tree was felled into a parking lot. It landed on a vehicle passing by through the fall zone. The lone occupant of the vehicle was not seriously injured. Access to the parking lot was not secured at the exit driveway, nor was the fall zone barricaded or marked with flagging.
Injury Type : Possible exposure to airborne asbestos (6 workers)
Core Activity : Institutional maintenance work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008095610284
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

While renovating a bathroom, workers unknowingly cut asbestos-containing material, creating airborne dust.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Window replacement
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117080285
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

Two workers were replacing a window panel on the 44th floor of a building, using a swing stage scaffold system. As one of the workers was removing the seal and caulking from the window panel, the glass broke. Pieces of glass fell to grade level but fortunately the area below had been barricaded off before work began.
Injury Type : Broken bones, internal injuries
Core Activity : Curbside waste collection
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157520297
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

The driver of a curbside collection truck was exiting the vehicle on the passenger side when the vehicle unexpectedly rolled forward. He tried to jump back into the truck but was crushed between the truck and an adjacent lamp standard.
Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Bulk excavation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700189
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A dump truck exiting a bulk excavation turned off the ramp too early. The truck flipped over onto the driver's side. The driver was using his cellphone while turning.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008140970492
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A loaded logging truck was negotiating a switchback section of a haul road with a 10 percent grade. The rig spun out and left the road, and the truck and trailer landed upside down. The sidehill slope was about 40 percent. A small evergreen tree on the sidehill stopped the rig from sliding/rolling 200 feet down the hill.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Tower crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700190
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

The rigging chains of a self-erecting tower crane contacted overhead power lines.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Utilities installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008128230332
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

An excavator was digging to install a sanitary sewer line at a multi-family residential site. The excavator contacted and pulled the underground 25-kV conductor, breaking the PVC conduit and damaging the cable inside.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Bridge crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117080280
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

Two overhead bridge cranes were performing a tandem lift of a fabricated metal structure (weighing about 91 tons). The metal structure was being rotated when the rigging components failed. The two overhead bridge cranes were severely shock-loaded.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Crane operation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008118870672
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A mobile crane was offloading steel open-web trusses. The crane momentarily lifted off the ground, causing the load to lower abruptly. Crane load charts had not been checked to ensure the load could safely be lifted.
Injury Type : Head lacerations, possible concussion
Core Activity : Concrete formwork
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158880444
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A young worker was standing on a ladder, nailing a brace to a column form. The worker lost his footing and fell to the concrete slab below (about 12 feet).
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Re-roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950311
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

During re-roofing, a large amount of tear-off material (debris) had been piled onto a flat roof on the 4th level of a building. A section (25 feet by 18 feet) of this roof collapsed, and the tear-off material fell onto the 3rd floor. Part of that floor then also collapsed, and the tear-off material landed on the 2nd floor.
Injury Type : Soreness
Core Activity : Re-roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163710087
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker fell about 9 feet from a ladder being used to access a roof.
Injury Type : Head injury, multiple fractures, soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Equipment storage
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008139860196
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was adjusting a tie-down strap on three stacked flatbed trailers when he fell from a height of about 15 feet (4.5 metres).
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Concrete forming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008115132347
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was jackhammering a concrete wall that contained energized high-voltage electrical conductors inside a plastic conduit. The bit of the jackhammer punctured the plastic conduit in several places and contacted the electrical conductors. The electrical system did not short-circuit.
Injury Type : Potential for exposure to asbestos
Core Activity : Transit construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158880443
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

While jackhammering a concrete abutment, workers broke several communication and high-voltage ducts made of asbestos.
Injury Type : Fractured skull
Core Activity : Trawl fishing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008157490255
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was struck by a 5-pound hook attached to a fishing vessel load line that was on a boom.
Injury Type : Fractured arm
Core Activity : Television production
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008110210166
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was crouching down to a sitting position to exit from a truck bed when his foot caught on a rough patch on the tailgate. The worker fell forward onto the pavement.
Injury Type : Fractured ribs
Core Activity : Re-roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155730269
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was removing tarpaulins from a 6:12 sloped roof when he lost his footing. He slid off the roof and fell about 12 feet. No personal fall protection system was in place.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Structural concrete forming
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980281
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A gust of wind blew the load line of a self-erecting crane against an overhead power line.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550221
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

An excavator tipped onto its side.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Manual falling and bucking
Location : Northwest BC
ID Number : 2008161740287
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A faller was struck by the top of a hemlock danger tree that broke off its stem. The piece that struck the worker was 38 feet long. The danger tree was 91 feet tall and was located 45 feet inside standing timber above the faller.
Read an investigation report about an incident in which a faller was fatally injured by a piece that broke off the tree being felled:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/AccidentInvestigations/IR-PrimaryResources.asp?ReportID=34625
Injury Type : Bruising, burns, and undetermined injuries (3 workers)
Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157270340
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A soup kettle exploded in the kitchen area of a restaurant.
See a hazard alert based on this incident:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/publications/posters.asp?reportID=35303
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Highrise construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154960245
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A 20-foot-deep bulk excavation face sloughed and undermined the support of jobsite offices as well as the sidewalk and roadway above.
Injury Type : Laceration
Core Activity : Dump truck operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161770469
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

As a dump truck backed down a compacted gravel ramp, its rear passenger-side wheels went off the edge of the ramp. The wheels went into the excavation, which was about 3 feet deep at that point, and the truck tipped over onto its side.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Pulp mill
Location : BC
ID Number : 2008116270188
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A foul condensate tank exploded.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008137102626
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was installing tarpaper at the edge of the roof of a 5-storey wooden building. The worker slipped off the wet roof. His fall was not arrested until he was at about the second-floor level because he had too much slack in his lifeline.
Injury Type : Knee injuries
Core Activity : Residential wiring
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157270338
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

As a young worker stepped off a 6-foot stepladder onto a wet floor, he slipped and fell.
Injury Type : Minor crush injuries to feet
Core Activity : Waste recycling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161290267
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was assisting the operator of a remote-controlled, tracked, wood waste recycler (grinder) which was idling. He stepped on the main infeed compression roller, located in the hopper, to rig a lifting chain to the top of the unit so that maintenance work could be done. His weight caused the roller to spin in the opposite (clearing) direction, pulling the worker's feet into the unit. Fortunately, the operator realized that he should not switch the unit to reverse cycle; co-workers used pry bars to free the worker. Because the worker was wearing safety protective footwear, his feet were not severely injured.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Transport of blasting equipment
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008137102620
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A large blasting drill rig was being transported from one quarry to another on a winding road with steep sections. The drill rig was on a low-bed trailer pulled by a transport truck. The operator was having difficulty getting up a steep turn and decided to raise the "jeep" section of his tractor-trailer to put more weight directly on the rear drive train, to improve traction. The height of the raised load was more than 17 feet, and the drill rig hooked overhead lines. A power pole was pulled over and a 14.4-kV line landed on the drill rig.
Injury Type : Soreness and tingling in back
Core Activity : Plumbing and heating
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163640064
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

Two workers were installing a section of sanitary pipe (weighing about 60 pounds) into ceiling anchors. The pipe fell and struck one worker's back.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Pipeline construction
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008124490135
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A draw works side boom (a tractor-style mobile crane used in pipeline operations) was hoisting a load when the brake bands on the winch failed. The load dropped to the ground but no workers were injured.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Well servicing
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008124490129
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A young worker collapsed and died while doing gas well completion work. The worker had also collapsed several days earlier.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Wood chip delivery
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008137102621
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A boom-lift chip truck was leaving a residence after delivering a load of wood chips. The boom had not been lowered and as the truck drove away, the boom contacted an overhead neutral cable. The cable was ripped from five power towers and fell onto the railway tracks. The operator of the unit backed up, untangled the boom, lowered it, and left the site.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Equipment rental
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008158820237
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was found unresponsive inside a large metal storage container. He had apparently been exposed to carbon monoxide fumes from a running snowmobile.
Injury Type : Exposure to a hazardous substance
Core Activity : Mechanical work on fire suppression system
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008093710229
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was servicing a fire suppressant system when the equipment discharged a mixture of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon gas. The worker had difficulty breathing but managed to get out of the area.
Injury Type : Non-injury
Core Activity : Framing or residential forming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008128230321
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A 4-storey wood-frame condominium burned to the ground. No workers were in the immediate area of the fire, and no one was injured.
Injury Type : Multiple leg fractures
Core Activity : Golf course maintenance
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145130329
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was injured when the ride-on mower he was operating slipped on a steep bank. As the worker exited the machine, his lower leg was caught under the mower.
Injury Type : Broken bones
Core Activity : Manual tree falling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008158920221
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A faller felled a large cedar tree (trunk 55 inches in diameter) into standing timber on the low side of a right-of-way. The tree struck another cedar tree, which tore a 70-foot-high green schoolmarm off the falling tree and sent it uphill. The schoolmarm struck the faller on the escape trail (uphill and to the side of the stump).
Injury Type : Crush injuries
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008163050069
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A forklift was placing an 8,000-pound load of green lumber onto kiln trains (carts that enter the dry kiln). The forklift operator did not see a nearby worker. The forklift struck the worker, pushing him belly-down on a crossbeam of the cart. The load of lumber was then lowered onto the top rails of the cart and on the worker.
Watch a video that shows how difficult it is for forklift operators to see pedestrians:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/Videos.asp?ReportID=34542
Read an investigation report about an incident in which a worker was struck by mobile equipment at a plywood mill:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/AccidentInvestigations/IR-Manufacturing.asp?ReportID=34467
Injury Type : Fractured arm
Core Activity : Equipment Installation
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008140970531
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A screw conveyor was being rigged on an angle so that it could be hoisted down an access hole. A worker was standing about 5 feet up on the elevated end of the conveyor so he could manually winch up the end. The chain rigging at the bottom end came unhooked, the lower end of the screw conveyor dropped, and the worker fell to the floor.
Injury Type : Facial laceration
Core Activity : Waterworks construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008163050072
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was cutting a 30-inch water-main pipe with a cutoff saw equipped with a diamond blade. The worker had to change positions to continue the cut. The saw's arms were not locked, and when the blade became bound in the pipe, the saw kicked back and struck the worker.
Injury Type : Head injury
Core Activity : Warehouse operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145570150
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A young worker new to the job was using an order picker to move stock from an upper portion of pallet racking. The worker fell from the work platform to the concrete floor 12 feet below.
Injury Type : Concussion, laceration
Core Activity : Tree pruning
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158910185
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

While pruning a fruit tree, a worker fell from a stepladder to grade (about 8 feet).
Injury Type : Serious burns
Core Activity : Heavy equipment and metal fabrication
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158910184
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

An electrician was working on a motor control centre switchgear disconnect when it exploded into flames.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Trawl fishing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008139050083
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A crew member on a fishing vessel was fatally struck by a steel hook. The hook had been hand-spliced to a 9/16-inch wire rope. The hook was being used to pull a large-diameter (about 1.25-inch) nylon line tight, securing the trawl doors to the side of the vessel. When the wire rope parted at the splice, the taut nylon line created a slingshot effect and the hook was launched toward the crew member.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavation work
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008109150447
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

As an excavator was mounding topsoil, its boom contacted and severed overhead communication lines. As a result, the neutral line, located above these lines and with a large amount of sag, flipped up and contacted a 14.4-kV power line. Fortunately, neither the power line nor the utility pole was damaged.
Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Formwork
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163640059
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

An unsecured concrete gang form panel (10 feet by 12 feet) fell backwards, pinning a worker against a concrete wall.
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Concrete formwork
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161750251
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker fell about 5 feet, from the top of a concrete wall form.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injury (1 worker)
Core Activity : Public school
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008138190240
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

Two workers were physically assaulted by a special-needs student.
Injury Type : Fractured bone, abrasions
Core Activity : Structural concrete forming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008115132323
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A section of metal prefabricated formwork fell about 10 feet to a walkway below. The form, which weighed almost 500 pounds, struck and injured one worker.
Injury Type : Serious injuries to fingers
Core Activity : Finishing carpentry
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008124710459
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was cutting a piece of baseboard with a 10-inch table saw. The saw's guard had been removed. When the baseboard kicked back, the worker's fingers contacted the moving blade.
See a slide show about guarding for woodworking equipment:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=34503
Injury Type : Fatal (1 worker); undetermined injuries (2 non-workers)
Core Activity : Driver training
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163730058
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A driver training vehicle, with instructor and student in it, was turning left across a highway when it was struck by an oncoming vehicle. The driving instructor, who was in the passenger seat, was fatally injured in the collision. The student driver and the driver of the oncoming vehicle were injured.
Injury Type : Serious crush injuries to hand
Core Activity : Local government and related operations
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154970447
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was unwinding a manual winch for a dump truck tarp when the handle of the winch hit one hand and pushed it into the sprocket of the winch.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Drilling fence post holes
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008163790037
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A skid-steer front-end loader was equipped to drill fence post holes. The drill auger contacted and ruptured a 40-mm, 40-psi gas line main. No workers were injured.
Injury Type : Contusions and deep bruising (2 workers)
Core Activity : Plastic recycling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008110750432
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

Workers were using a half-ton chain hoist to lift the lid off a plastic bottle perforator that had jammed. As they started to clear the jam, the hook dislodged from the eye on the lid and the lid dropped, pinning two workers.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Blasting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008137102606
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

During construction, a blast was set off in a residential area. Fly rock struck and damaged nearby homes and vehicles. Fortunately, people in the area (workers and non-workers) were not injured.
See a slide show about a blasting incident in which fly rock damaged several vehicles:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=34853
Injury Type : Eye injury
Core Activity : Roofing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008160670176
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was kneeling to install capping for a synthetic slate roof. As he delivered the first hammer-blow to a nail, the nail bounced back and struck his eye.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008114050206
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

During utility upgrading, excavation was being done in an area with a charged 4-inch propane line. Only a partial electronic locate for the line had been obtained. It was assumed that the line continued in a particular direction, and the excavator operator was told to widen the excavation. However, the line did not follow the assumed direction, and the excavator ruptured the propane line.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Loading tile onto articulating boom truck
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163750159
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

As an articulating boom truck was loading tile, its boom hit the support cable (guyline) of a power pole. The cable broke and struck a worker in the back.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Concrete pouring
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157410240
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A front outrigger of a concrete pumping truck broke through the dunnage placed beneath it. The outrigger sank into the ground and the truck partially tipped. The hopper of the tipping truck struck a concrete truck that was offloading into the hopper.
Injury Type : Laceration to leg
Core Activity : Window renovation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008116120224
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was setting down a circular saw when the saw was caught by a tree branch. The branch also caught the worker's trigger finger, and the saw guard flipped back. The saw started and struck the worker's leg.
Injury Type : Crush injuries to hand
Core Activity : Farm labour supply
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158750178
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was operating a sorting machine that removed the tops of root vegetables. One hand was caught between two rollers.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Tower crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161770439
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A tower crane being operated by remote control from the ground slewed into the boom of a stationary mobile crane. Both cranes sustained minor damage.
Injury Type : Temporary loss of consciousness, lacerations, soreness
Core Activity : Oilfield fluid hauling
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008144250202
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was preparing to flush out the fluid tanks on a tractor-trailer unit. He opened the top hatches and sprayed hot water into the tank and noticed vapours coming out of the hatch. As he started to climb down the ladder at the back of the trailer, he lost consciousness and fell to the ground.
Injury Type : Head injury
Core Activity : Grapple yarding
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008152480228
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A grapple yarder rolled about 100 feet down a 60 percent slope when the guyline supporting it failed.
Injury Type : Lacerations, soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980247
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A loaded logging truck rolled onto the driver's side and struck a bridge. The load spilled along the highway and into the creek.
Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Sprinkler system installation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008110750421
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

Workers were stripping forms from a third-floor suspended slab when they lost control of a sheet of 3/4-inch plywood. The sheet bounced off a perimeter fence and into an opening on the first floor of the building. It struck a young worker on a stepladder at ground level.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Power pole installation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008110750420
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

An excavator was digging a hole for an anchor to support a power pole when it ruptured a 60.3 mm (2-inch) natural gas line. Utilities had not been properly located before excavating began.
Injury Type : Possible exposure to asbestos (31 workers)
Core Activity : Local government and related operations
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008162590067
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

Vinyl sheet flooring with asbestos fibre in the backing was removed without safe work procedures. Thirty-one workers, aged 32 through 54, may have been exposed to asbestos. Some workers who breathed in small quantities of asbestos have been diagnosed with asbestos-related cancer 20-30 years later.
See online resources for safe work practices around asbestos:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Portals/Construction/HazardousMaterials.asp?ReportID=34092
Injury Type : Serious hand injuries
Core Activity : Steel foundry
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158910177
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker's hand was injured when he reached under a raised steel plate to remove a steel cribbing block. The large plate (about 3 feet by 12 feet, and 1 inch thick), weighing 2,260 pounds, slipped off the lifting hook. It fell 10 inches and pinched the worker's hand against the cribbing block.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures, lacerations, soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Greenhouse maintenance
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008120030223
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was on a greenhouse roof, cleaning gutters with a garden hose. He stepped off the gutter onto a glass pane, which broke under his weight. The worker fell 14 feet to the concrete floor below.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Pressure washing highrise balconies
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008115132318
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was on the 38th floor of a highrise building, adjacent to a tower crane. As he was pressure washing the slab, he inadvertently walked into the radius of the tower crane and his lifeline caught on the crane's jib. The worker managed to secure his lifeline to the building, and even after his lifeline broke he was fortunately not dragged off the floor.
Injury Type : Back injury, stiffness, bruising
Core Activity : Land surfacing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163270061
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A dump truck was unloading gravel on an uneven surface, where the rear tires were about 15 centimetres (6 inches) higher than the front tires. The truck tipped over onto the driver's side.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Chemical manufacture
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008111970240
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

About 40-50 metric tonnes of sulfuric acid spilled in a work area. Fortunately, no workers were present when the spill occurred.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Scaffold system set-up
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950280
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was erecting a steel frame scaffold system. He was positioning a 20-foot-long aluminum scaffold tube when it inadvertently contacted adjacent high-voltage (12.5-kV) power lines. The contact damaged the scaffold tube, interior furnishings in the building, and high-voltage electrical equipment in the laneway.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Blasting for road construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550189
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

During road construction, fly rock from a blast struck a house.
See a slide show about a blasting incident in which fly rock damaged several vehicles:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=34853
Injury Type : Lacerated arm, abrasions
Core Activity : General trucking
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008137290237
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

The driver of a company truck was seriously injured in an accident (MVA).
Injury Type : Broken bones
Core Activity : Exterior stucco application
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163710060
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was installing mesh under a window on a building. He slipped through the space between the building and the scaffold, landed on the balcony below, bounced onto the scaffold deck, then fell to the ground (about 20 feet).
Injury Type : Lacerated fingers
Core Activity : Carpentry
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008110750413
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

As a worker reached over a running table saw to retrieve a piece of trim, his hand contacted the running saw blade.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road building
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163640044
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

During the digging of a large excavation (30 feet deep; 50 feet long by 50 feet wide), part of the bank collapsed.
Injury Type : Fatal (1 worker); minor injuries (4 non-workers)
Core Activity : Health care services
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008140970433
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker's car crossed the centre line and struck several other vehicles. The worker was fatally injured and the occupants of the other vehicles, who were not workers, sustained minor injuries.
Injury Type : Amputation of parts of two fingers
Core Activity : Veneer or plywood manufacture
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240211
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker reached into a running belt drive of a veneer stacker. His hand was drawn into an in-running nip point.
Injury Type : Internal injuries, deep laceration, hand injury
Core Activity : Roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008110110052
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

While tearing off an existing roof, a worker fell from the unguarded roof edge onto landscaping about 15 feet below. No fall protection system was in place.
Injury Type : Electric shock and burns (2 workers)
Core Activity : Power line work
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156160291
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

Two workers sustained electrical injuries when the elevated bucket truck they were in contacted a 25-kV line.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Tower crane operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008119700132
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A tower crane was placing a section of prefabricated wooden wall 4.5 metres from an 8-kV power line. A gust of wind pushed the wall into the power line, tripping a pole breaker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450322
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

As a bulldozer was mucking the toe of the slope, the 40-foot-high blasted rock face slipped. The tractor cab filled with rock, but the operator was able to avoid serious injury by staying in the corner of the cab.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures of arm
Core Activity : Bindery
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117930125
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker's arm was pulled into the unguarded rollers of a paper-inserting machine.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Steep slope roofing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240209
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker fell from a sloped roof about 22 feet above grade. He landed on a concrete ramp and rolled a further 30 feet down it. The worker later died of his injuries.
Injury Type : Amputated finger
Core Activity : Construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008118870629
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker lost his footing while cutting a sheet of plywood. As he fell, one finger contacted the saw blade.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Mobile crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950289
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

Five wooden roof trusses were damaged when a crane placed two pallets of roofing shingles (56 bundles) on the roof.
Injury Type : Electric shock
Core Activity : Plumbing/heating installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163640060
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A drainage line needed to be relocated in a 10-inch-thick concrete slab. When the concrete coring machine contacted a live low-voltage electrical conductor, the worker operating the machine sustained an electric shock.
Injury Type : Injuries to back and leg
Core Activity : Traffic control
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970380
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A traffic control person was struck by a motor vehicle, which then left the scene.
Injury Type : Minor abrasions/contusions (non-worker)
Core Activity : Acute care
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008070890081
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A fixed X-Y ceiling lift (rated capacity of 625 pounds) failed while a patient (weighing about 75 percent of the rated capacity) was being transferred from wheelchair to bed. Both bridge rail carriage-to-truck support bolts sheared from the carriage at the bed's head-end side rail. The tail-end carriage bracket then separated from the bridge, and the tail end of the bridge rail dropped. It struck the patient, and the patient dropped several inches to the bed.
Injury Type : Head injury, broken bones
Core Activity : Agriculture
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240232
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was operating a hydraulic winch when one arm was drawn into the feed rollers. The worker then fell onto the machine.
Injury Type : Exposure to a hazardous substance
Core Activity : Insulation work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008124770197
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was overcome while working with polyurethane spray foam insulation.
Injury Type : Crush injury to hand
Core Activity : Crushing of rock core samples for analysis
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008111080106
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was using compressed air to clean a rock roller crusher when one hand was caught between the rotating rollers.
Injury Type : Abrasions, bruising
Core Activity : Traffic control
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008143950305
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A traffic control person was stopping traffic for single-lane traffic control on a highway. The worker was struck by a car when its driver failed to notice road construction signs and did not slow down.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Gas bar and convenience store
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158910172
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

Early one morning, a lone worker was confronted by a robber with a handgun. The worker obeyed the robber's demand to open the cash register. The robber took the cash as well as a large quantity of tobacco, then left.
See a list of materials for preventing violence in retail, including a handbook for service stations:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Portals/SmallBusiness/SafetyforBusiness.asp?ReportID=32788
Injury Type : Crush injuries to hand
Core Activity : Wood product manufacture
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240223
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was cleaning a glue spreader machine. As the worker reached into the point of operation, one hand contacted and was drawn between the in-running applicator rollers. The worker activated the emergency stop device and extricated the hand without assistance.
Injury Type : Amputated fingertip
Core Activity : Meat cutting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008157580278
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was cutting steaks with a meat band saw. When the blade contacted a piece of bone, the hand that was holding the meat was pivoted into the blade. The blade guard was set with much more of the blade exposed than is necessary to cut meat.
Injury Type : Fatal (1 worker); serious burns to face and hands (2 workers)
Core Activity : Oil or gas well completion
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008124490126
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A crew at a well site was cleaning a pressure vessel storage tank after a Frac job (well completion process to enhance the production of a natural gas well). The workers had opened the two access hatches on the vessel to allow for natural ventilation and had taken a reading of the LEL levels (concentration of gas vapours) in the vessel. A vacuum truck crew had attached their suction hose to the drain line on the pressure vessel to begin drawing the waste materials (the pressure vessel was partially filled with Frac materials, which would include sand, potassium chloride, produced water, light oil, and natural gas). The vacuum truck operator was standing on an elevated platform adjacent to one of the vessel hatch openings, using a high-pressure wash wand to spray down the interior of the vessel (part of the cleaning process). Two other workers were standing on the ground adjacent to the second hatch opening when an explosion and flash fire occurred. The explosion threw the vacuum truck operator against the wall of an adjacent test building, fatally injuring him. The workers at the second hatch sustained serious burns.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Front end loader operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008108440128
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A wheeled, articulating front-end loader fell onto its side while scooping up sand. The operator was not injured
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Land clearing and site preparation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008113830193
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

The boom of an excavator snagged an overhead utility line. Three poles were pulled down, and all the attached lines (high- and low-voltage) landed on the roadway. The operator had not received any electrical safety training.
Injury Type : Smoke inhalation (2 workers)
Core Activity : Tower crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117080244
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

An electrical fire occurred in the slip ring of a tower crane. The two workers who extinguished the fire were treated for smoke inhalation.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Integrated forest management
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161740255
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

An empty logging truck was entering an active logging area with two parallel roads over steep ground. The truck was on the lower road; it was struck by a runaway log from the upper road.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Carpentry work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155070249
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

The boom of an aerial lift (a self-propelled elevating work platform) contacted an energized overhead low-voltage power line.
Injury Type : Smoke inhalation (8 workers)
Core Activity : Planer mill
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154970416
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker welded a shear plate onto the planer outfeed. The worker returned a short time later and found that the outfeed and the surrounding rubber belting had ignited. Workers were able to contain and extinguish the fire before firefighters arrived.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Concrete highrise construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154970414
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A concrete spandrel on the 18th floor shifted, pinching the wire securing the "C" clamp that aligned and levelled the spandrel. The clamp fell, bounced off a canopy at the 8th floor, then fell to street level, narrowly missing a pedestrian.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Traffic control
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163750151
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A mobile crane was set up on a street so it could unload reinforcing steel from a flatbed truck. A transit bus hit the crane's counterweight.
Injury Type : Crush injury to arm
Core Activity : Corrugated cardboard manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008093690221
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

Three workers were threading paper into the corrugator machine. The "dancer roller" (the roller used to thread and control tension in sheet material as the material is wound between sets of rollers) was inadvertently switched from "thread-up" to "run" mode. One worker's arm was drawn in and pinned against the rotating roller.
Injury Type : Internal injuries
Core Activity : Concrete placing and finishing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700161
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was struck by a concrete lintel when formwork collapsed. The worker was knocked off the scaffold he was working on and landed on the ground 5 feet below.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Garbage disposal
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008137102585
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A disposal truck had loaded a disposal bin at a work location. Without lowering the truck's high-tower for the tarping mechanism, the truck drove away. The high-tower contacted overhead utility and communications lines, disconnecting service to three homes. Fortunately, the lines were not high-voltage, and the truck's operator knew that he should stay in the vehicle until the utility company or firefighters determined that it was safe for him to exit.
Injury Type : Serious injuries to hand
Core Activity : Electrical work
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980236
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A young worker was using an impact hammer to pound a 6-foot grounding rod into the ground when his hand was seriously injured.
Injury Type : Fatal (non-worker)
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008101920152
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A loaded log transporter travelling on a marked highway was struck by an oncoming private motor vehicle travelling in the truck's lane. The operator of the log transporter was not injured but the other driver died.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Blasting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008137102582
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

During blasting at a remote construction site, fly rock travelled about 450 metres and struck a building on the site.
See a slide show about a blasting incident in which fly rock damaged several vehicles:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=34853
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Site servicing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450318
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A backhoe was digging a foundation. It snagged a 25-kV electrical conductor. Utilities had not been fully located before excavating began.
Injury Type : Bruising, scratches
Core Activity : Finger joint mill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008130570329
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A forklift reversed in a work area, pinning a worker against a 4-wheeled cart of dunnage.
Watch a video that shows how difficult it is for forklift operators to see pedestrians:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/Videos.asp?ReportID=34542
Injury Type : Undetermined
Core Activity : Fish farming
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008157490228
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A 1000-kilogram bag of fish food fell from a pallet and struck a young worker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700160
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A mobile crane with its boom extended 90 feet tipped over while lifting a load.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebra, ankle
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008147050207
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker fell through a stairwell floor opening to the level below (about 9 feet).
Watch a short video in which a worker falls through a stairwell opening:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/Videos.asp?ReportID=34741
Read an investigation report about a similar incident where the worker died:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/AccidentInvestigations/IR-Construction.asp?ReportID=35074
Injury Type : Minor concussion
Core Activity : Dump truck operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155730237
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A truck was dumping a load of fill on a sloped, unstable dirt road when the truck shifted sideways and tipped over.
Injury Type : Scrapes, mild hypothermia (2 workers)
Core Activity : Commercial fishing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008157490227
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

An 11-metre fishing vessel sank. Two crew were rescued after being in the water for 3 hours.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157270306
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A backhoe was digging a 5-foot-deep excavation so a conductor could be repaired. A 3-inch gas line was contacted, causing an uncontrolled release of gas.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Tower crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008115132291
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

The securing device on a tower crane's hoisting drum failed, causing the hoist line to spool off the drum. The work platform suspended from the hook, with a worker on it, dropped to grade (about 45 feet).
Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Integrated forest management
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450309
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A loaded log transporter (jeep with a wagon) left the travelled portion of a forest service road. The transporter rolled over once and stopped against trees on the 50 percent slope. The cab guard protected the driver, who was wearing a seat belt, from serious injury even though the truck was heavily damaged.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Backhoe operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008115132290
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A backhoe ruptured a natural gas line while digging to install a lamp post. The utilities had not been located before digging began.
Injury Type : Fractured skull
Core Activity : Helicopter logging
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161750219
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A faller was struck by a limb that fell from the forest canopy.
Injury Type : Crush injuries to finger
Core Activity : Pipefitting
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008163790035
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was manually removing a small section of flowline piping, As the piping came loose, it dropped and pinched one of his fingers between the pipe and the flange valve.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Gas production
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008163800035
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was seriously injured when he fell from the ATV he was operating on a gravel road near a gas plant. Several weeks later, he died of his injuries.
Injury Type : Fatal (3 workers); serious injuries (3 workers)
Core Activity : Mushroom growing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008095610260
Date of Accident : 2008-Sep

Two workers were in the pump house of a "brown water" containment pond, removing a pipe blockage. As they worked, sludge was released that created an oxygen-depleted atmosphere. Four other workers attempted a rescue. Three of the six workers died and the other three were seriously injured.

Watch a series of videos about the hazards of confined spaces, including IDLH (immediately dangerous to life or health) atmospheres:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/Videos.asp?ReportID=35168

2008 July - August

Injury Type : Wrist injury
Core Activity : Food processing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155400269
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

As a worker was doing maintenance work on food processing machinery, one hand was caught and pulled into the area between a corrugated drum and the drive shaft.
Injury Type : Fractured arm
Core Activity : Structural concrete forming
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154960212
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was placing a beam at the 24-foot level of suspended slab falsework when he slipped and fell to grade.
Injury Type : Back injury (1 young worker); hand injuries (1 worker)
Core Activity : Sanitary sewer installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155400256
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

During the installation of sewer pipe, a 5-metre-long steel trench shield (cage) was used in the excavation. The cage was pulled forward as the trench was dug out. When a section of the trench bank collapsed in front of the trench shield, the soil fell into the open excavation. It then slid into the open end of the cage, shifting the sewer pipe as two workers (one of them a young worker) were positioning it.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950299
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

An excavator was loading soil into a dump truck. The excavator's bucket contacted and ruptured a 1.25-inch natural gas line.
Injury Type : Head wound, arm injury
Core Activity : General retail
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008128230315
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was working alone at a store inside a mall. The worker asked three people to leave the store. They refused, and when the worker was on the phone contacting security, he was attacked.
See a list of materials for preventing violence in retail, including a handbook for service stations:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Portals/SmallBusiness/SafetyforBusiness.asp?ReportID=32788
Injury Type : Loss of consciousness; undetermined injuries
Core Activity : Wood product manufacture
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008111110439
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A young worker was found unresponsive in a veneer chip conveyor. The worker was caught between a load-carrying roller and a conveyor belt.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Motel operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980242
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A person jumped over the counter and robbed the till. The worker on duty was not injured.
Injury Type : Temporary loss of consciousness; broken vertebrae
Core Activity : Electrical work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155400273
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

As a worker stepped into a utility trailer, he slipped on the wet floor and fell backwards. His head struck the pavement 1.5 feet below the floor of the trailer.
Injury Type : Lacerations, broken bone, bruising
Core Activity : Residential framing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008111110440
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was on a top plate 8 to 9 feet above grade, standing trusses, when the trusses became unstable and fell onto him. He managed to climb down off the top plate to the ground floor.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Highrise concrete construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008160580198
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

The load line of one tower crane contacted the jib of a second tower crane several times in a two-day period. The tower crane operators and riggers did not report these crane contacts to their managers.
Injury Type : Mild concussion, soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Delivery of trusses
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155270237
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was rigging wooden trusses for crane delivery when he fell from a flatbed trailer to the ground (about 5 feet).
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Tower crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008115132288
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A lower tower crane contacted the load being moved by a higher tower crane.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Steel stud/drywall installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950252
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was relocating a telescopic boom lift between an excavation and a guarded natural gas meter cap. One of the lift's rough-terrain tires struck the gas meter cap, damaging a regulator and releasing natural gas onto the job site.
Injury Type : Minor injuries
Core Activity : Road construction
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008163790018
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker driving to a road construction site was involved a multi-vehicle accident.
Injury Type : Head laceration
Core Activity : Retail building supplies
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008159110169
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was erecting a large display rack made of steel tubing. An L-shaped piece (about 10 feet by 6 feet) slipped off the post it was leaning against and struck the worker.
Injury Type : Electrical burns, broken bones, internal injuries
Core Activity : Billboard poster installation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008157620195
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was installing a poster on a billboard when the 10-foot metal pole used to attach the poster contacted a 25-kV power line. The worker, who was not wearing fall protection equipment, fell to the ground (about 27 feet).
Injury Type : Head lacerations, bruising to upper body
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008160670153
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A loaded logging truck with a tri-axle trailer rolled (360 degrees) over a steep embankment on a haul road.
Injury Type : Electrical burns
Core Activity : Electrical work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700154
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

As a worker stripped a piece of BX cable, he contacted the enclosed live 347-volt electrical circuit.
Injury Type : Severed finger
Core Activity : Oilfield mat manufacture
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008140970406
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was placing a 12-foot-long 2x10 fir plank against a steel forming jig. Another worker's finger was caught between the plank and the jig.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebra and finger
Core Activity : Exterior restoration
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700155
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was looking for a tool that had landed in some bushes when he fell over a 6-foot drop.
Injury Type : Back injury, bruising
Core Activity : Framing and forming
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008129920190
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A young worker fell 10.75 feet while helping to place a 17-foot-long exterior wall on the second floor of a building under construction.
Injury Type : Serious injuries to fingers
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008157440186
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was straightening an 18-foot-long board on the trimmer infeed deck. The end of the board became caught under the infeed belt and pulled the worker's hand along with the board.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Landfill maintenance
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008159110168
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A dump truck loaded with 2-inch crush was descending a haul road with a grade of 12 percent. The brakes were not effective and the truck gained speed. The truck travelled more than 400 metres after the brakes failed, then the driver deliberately turned the truck to roll it, to stop its descent. The cab remained upright, the box tipped (spilling its load), and the truck stopped.
Injury Type : Fractures, lacerations, contusions
Core Activity : Oil or gas pipeline construction or repair
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240203
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

The operator of a side-boom tracked crawler parked the machine and exited the cab. The machine began to roll forward. The operator (a young worker) tried to climb back onto the machine but fell on the track and was pulled between the track and the side-boom mounting structure.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Building maintenance
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155400255
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A ladder had been set up on sand and was not secured. When it tilted over, the worker on it fell 10-12 feet.
Injury Type : Hand injuries
Core Activity : Water truck operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008160530233
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

As a water truck was being turned around on a slope, the load of water shifted. The truck tipped over and rolled twice.
Injury Type : Head injury
Core Activity : Low slope roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008128230301
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

During re-roofing, a worker fell 7 feet to the deck below, then fell an additional 5 feet to the ground.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Pile driving
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980225
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A crane used for pile driving was moving metal pilings. The pilings struck a barge, causing the main crane boom to fail and land in the lake.
Injury Type : Eye injury
Core Activity : Installation of site services
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008117640412
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was cutting 8-inch PVC pipe with an abrasive wheel designed for cutting steel. The wheel started to wobble, then shattered. The worker was wearing eye protection, but a piece of abrasive struck the protection with enough force to push it into one eye.
Injury Type : Broken foot
Core Activity : Metal deck installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550176
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A young worker fell about 12.75 feet from a metal deck mezzanine that he was helping to install.
Injury Type : Headache, nausea, abrasion, soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Bridge construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560264
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

The boom of a manlift had been extended into the danger zone of some rigging when a ground-level, horizontal-to-vertical pulley attachment failed. The 2.5-ton load caused a tensioned winch cable to straighten and hook the underside of the manlift. A young worker in the lift was thrown out. The worker's fall protection equipment saved him from a 25-foot fall to the concrete below.
Injury Type : Minor injuries (2 workers)
Core Activity : Cleaning
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008115132285
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was on an aluminum extension ladder, cleaning walls. The ladder became unstable, causing the worker to fall about 10 feet and land on a worker below.
Injury Type : Injury to vertebrae
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155400257
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker slipped on a piece of plastic while descending a stairway. The stairway was outfitted with a handrail.
Injury Type : Temporary loss of consciousness; soft-tissue injuries; possible concussion
Core Activity : Structural concrete forming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950249
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was verifying elevations of a scaffold system that supported a suspended formwork deck. Another worker, positioned higher, inadvertently dropped a 4x8 sheet of 3/4-inch plywood. The sheet of plywood struck the lower worker on the back of the neck.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Integrated forest management
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161750211
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was attempting to cross a creek when he fell into it and was swept a short distance downstream and over a waterfall.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Chemical processing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008111970218
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A furnace used to melt lithium caught fire. It was difficult to suppress the fire because lithium is highly reactive and burns in water.
Injury Type : 2nd- and 3rd-degree burns
Core Activity : Fishnet cleaning and repair
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008116270162
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker fell into a fishnet disinfection tank containing water at 60 degrees Celsius.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures, deep bruises
Core Activity : Paving services
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008144250167
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was driving on a main by-pass road when the worker's vehicle was struck by an oncoming vehicle (driven by a non-worker) that crossed the centre line.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Manual tree falling and bucking
Location : Northwest BC
ID Number : 2008161740224
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

To overcome a falling difficulty, a faller was falling two green trees by pushing one tree into the other. As the two trees fell, a 12-metre-high dead danger tree (located uphill from the green trees) fell onto the faller.
Read an inspection report about a similar incident:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/AccidentInvestigations/IR-PrimaryResources.asp?ReportID=34625
Injury Type : 1st- and 2nd-degree burns
Core Activity : Metal recycling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008111110424
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was using an oxyacetylene cutting torch when another person mistakenly doused the fire with methyl hydrate (undiluted windshield-washing liquid). The resulting fireball injured the worker.
Injury Type : Burn to hand
Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008144250166
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A young worker was using towels to remove the grease catch screens from above a restaurant grill. The worker dropped one of the screens and sustained a burn.
Injury Type : Undetermined injury to hand
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161770400
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was nailing a wooden wall frame using a pneumatic nail gun when a nail discharged into his hand.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Head laceration
Core Activity : Power washing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145130299
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A young worker fell 9.5 feet off a deck he was power washing.
Injury Type : Fractured ribs
Core Activity : Installation of prefabricated buildings
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700152
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A prefabricated building was being lifted using a hydraulic jack. A wooden crib block slipped and struck the worker operating the jack.
Injury Type : Leg injuries, internal injuries
Core Activity : Glass shop
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008128220115
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A young worker was opening a crate of 28 glass sheets (each about 11 x 5 feet) when the contents of the crate tipped. The worker fell backwards and was trapped under the full load of glass (about 4,000 pounds).
Injury Type : Electric shock
Core Activity : Construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008112850192
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

As a tower crane was landing a load of construction materials during a thunderstorm, a lightning flash produced an induced electrical current. When the rigger grabbed the load chain, he sustained an electric shock.
Injury Type : Undetermined leg injuries
Core Activity : Drainage pipe placement
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155730219
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A piece of drainage pipe was being placed on a hill. A backhoe was supporting the pipe in position (about 8 inches off the ground) for welding by a worker on the ground (a young worker). The backhoe operator was exiting the cab when he inadvertently contacted the controls, causing the pipe to shift and strike the worker's legs.
Injury Type : Amputated fingertip
Core Activity : Fish farm maintenance work
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008137160143
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A young worker was doing maintenance work on a fish farm when one finger was caught between a roller (capstan) and a rope.
Injury Type : Facial injuries, soft-tissue injury to foot
Core Activity : General trucking
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008138190196
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A truck with a telescoping boom crane tipped while offloading fish-farm nets from a vessel. The driver/crane operator was injured.
Injury Type : Hand laceration
Core Activity : Food product manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161480153
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

As a worker tried to remove a piece of food from a small processing conveyor, one gloved hand got caught in the conveyor.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Land clearing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155730220
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A bulldozer was pushing earth forward to create a road to the lower load-away area. The vertically excavated road shoulder collapsed, causing the bulldozer to roll over and down to the lower load-away area (about 9 feet below).
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Northwest BC
ID Number : 2008161750200
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A loaded off-highway logging truck travelled down a steep haul road and ended up in a ditch quarry. The truck was extensively damaged but the driver was not injured.
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Cold storage distribution centre
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008152480207
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker's leg was fractured when the motorized pallet jack he was operating struck metal shelving.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980214
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A small excavator ruptured a 3/4-inch natural gas line.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008112850185
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

An excavator damaged the protective coating and armour sheath of an underground 120/208-volt electrical conductor, creating a ground fault situation. As a result, the protective coating overheated, melted off the line, and caught fire at the panel.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Tower crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157270284
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A crane operator had rigged a load consisting of two 19-foot steel columns. When the load was suspended about 10 feet off the ground, the operator shut down the crane, using the remote control device. The operator then climbed a stairwell to the top of the building, from where he saw the crane slewing in a southwest direction. Using the remote control, the operator could not stop the crane but was able to lift the load. The crane's boom came to rest 180 degrees from its starting point.
Injury Type : Lacerated leg
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163640030
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A young worker was placing floor joists when he fell about 8 feet to the floor below.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Transporting equipment
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008143950257
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A dump truck was travelling on a highway, pulling a flat-deck trailer with a boom lift. As it negotiated a corner at the bottom of a hill, the trailer struck a concrete barrier on the side of the highway. The trailer and boom lift overturned.
Injury Type : Broken wrist, bruising
Core Activity : Construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008137102563
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was on the top step of a 4-foot stepladder, on a balcony 8.5 feet above the ground. He was near the edge of the balcony, nailing a 2x8, when the ladder tipped, causing the worker to fall to the ground (about 12.5 feet).
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Integrated forest management
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008140710586
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

An excavator was removing material near the approach to a forest road bridge (12 metres long) when the bridge dropped about 1 metre. The bridge came to rest partway in the river. A worker standing on the bridge at the time of the incident was not injured.
Injury Type : Exposure to friable asbestos (2 workers)
Core Activity : Building maintenance
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008109750065
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

Two workers entered a crawl space to install electrical cables and inadvertently knocked over a box. Some loose white insulation material and pipe fittings spilled out. The workers immediately stopped work in the area. A sample of the insulation confirmed that it contained asbestos.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Concrete forming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117670580
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A rough-terrain crane had its boom deployed in the radius of an overhead tower crane. When the tower crane's boom moved into the quadrant of the rough-terrain crane, the two booms made contact.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Installing beam for elevator car slings
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950242
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

Elevator workers were hoisting a steel crossbeam piece (weighing about 400 pounds) up an elevator shaft using a series of pulleys and an electric hoist winch. As the beam reached the sixth floor, the hoist winch pulley failed. The beam fell 75 feet, striking a suspended stage on parkade level one.
Injury Type : Abdominal injuries
Core Activity : Siding installation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008138190193
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was struck by a nail from a pneumatic nail gun.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Crush injuries to lower leg
Core Activity : Wood product manufacture
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008058250410
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

As a worker was changing banding on a banding machine, the side pattern cycled on its return stroke. The worker's foot slipped and got caught between the platter and the H beam. The worker's footwear did not provide the protection required.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Passenger bus operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240200
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A tour bus left the highway and rolled onto its side. The driver, who was the only person in the bus at the time, died before emergency personnel arrived.
Injury Type : Facial injuries (non-worker)
Core Activity : Metal recycling and salvage
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008156580240
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A customer (non-worker) brought a vehicle loaded with metal to a salvage business. The customer was assisting a crane operator to unload the vehicle when a piece of metal shifted and struck a second piece of metal lying on the ground. The second piece of metal sprang up and struck the customer.
Injury Type : Head injury; fractured bones
Core Activity : Film production
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008146960149
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

Workers were loading a prop (a wooden sign about 6 feet high and 22 feet long) into a truck. One worker was found on the ground after apparently falling from the rear of the truck (a height of slightly more than 4 feet).
Injury Type : Head lacerations, internal injuries, possible concussion
Core Activity : Installing window units
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950244
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was standing on the second rung of a stepladder set up on a sundeck under construction. The ladder was sitting on a piece of plywood placed over the 2x8 wood joists. The worker fell from the ladder and through the joists, landing head-first on gravel 32 inches below the surface of the sundeck.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Transit rail installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008115132276
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was doing maintenance on a machine used to lift and move rail sections into place when the machine rolled 40 metres down a tunnel. It knocked down 25-foot-high scaffolding, which three workers had vacated only 15 minutes earlier.
Injury Type : Eye injury
Core Activity : Digging a trench with high-pressure water
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008124120190
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was digging a trench for an electrical conductor using high-pressure water (1500 psi) and a vacuum truck to remove debris. Some of the agitated dirt splashed onto his face, getting in under his safety glasses and into one eye. No face shield was being used.
Injury Type : Fracture and laceration to lower arm
Core Activity : Concrete reinforcing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950254
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

Workers were preparing a third-floor suspended slab to receive concrete. As they removed excess steel reinforcing bars, two of the bars (10.5 metres long, 15 mm diameter) were thrown down towards the ground level. One struck and injured a worker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Mechanical harvesting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240196
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A feller buncher was felling timber in a clearcut opening. The operator noticed smoke coming from under the cab and exited. The fire was extinguished, but the cab and engine compartment were destroyed.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Blasting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008112850183
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

At a construction site, the force of blasting dislodged a high-voltage underground transformer from its concrete vault.
Injury Type : Bruising, soreness
Core Activity : Gas bar and propane filling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980197
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

While filling a propane tank on a motor vehicle, a worker noticed liquid spilling onto the ground. The liquid caught fire and burned the vehicle as well as the outside canopy and pumps of the gas station. Workers in an adjacent restaurant were told to evacuate; while running away from the fire, one fell. None of the workers at the gas bar was injured.
Injury Type : Injury to knee
Core Activity : Steep-slope roofing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008112850174
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A young worker was 6 feet up a ladder, having just passed a bundle of asphalt shingles to a worker on the roof. The worker on the roof lost control of the bundle, which then slid down the roof and struck the ladder. The worker on the ladder was knocked off and landed on the deck below.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Blasting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980208
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

Fly rock struck two private vehicles inside the danger area.
See a slide show about a similar blasting incident:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/publications/multimedia/slideshows.asp?ReportID=34853
Injury Type : Fractures
Core Activity : Metal product manufacture
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008116120220
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was getting a 5-ton truck ready to make deliveries when the truck rolled forward, pinning him against another truck. The truck was on a slight incline, and its parking brake was not engaged.
Injury Type : Exposure to mercury
Core Activity : Health care facility
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008113210089
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was taking his own blood pressure with a wall-mounted blood pressure machine when mercury leaked from the machine. Mercury spilled onto the worker, the wall, and the floor.
Injury Type : Fractured wrist
Core Activity : Steep-slope roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155070215
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A roofer fell about 15 feet from a ladder to grade.
Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Oil or gas well servicing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008124490120
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A truck hauling materials from well completion work was travelling in a convoy of eight vehicles. As the truck entered a corner to a bridge approach, it failed to properly negotiate the turn onto the bridge. The truck straddled the bull rail on the side of the bridge, then rolled off the bridge and landed upside down on the river bed below. The driver, who was wearing a seatbelt, sustained only minor injuries.
Injury Type : Amputated fingers
Core Activity : Drilling rig operations
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008163800024
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker on a drilling rig was cleaning a lighting plant generator. His fingers inadvertently slipped inside the fan guard and were amputated.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Gas plant
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008144250173
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

Workers arriving at a gas plant found that the top of a sour water tank (a 400-barrel tank used in the production of oil and gas to store produced water) had been blown off the support structure and was hanging by the piping from the top of the tank.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Well servicing using a service rig
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008144250169
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

During a gas well servicing, a service rig was picking up a snubbing unit stack when the service rig draw works brakes failed. The snubbing unit fell onto the draw works of the service rig. The brakes on the main hosting winch had been serviced several months earlier, but the hoisting equipment had not been load tested and this was the first lift since the repair work.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Oil or gas field servicing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008163790014
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A number of 400-barrel production tanks (storage tanks for oil and gas production) had been opened for cleaning. The tanks were venting hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas directly into the atmosphere. Tests at the site showed rates as high as 350 ppm, but no workers were injured.
Injury Type : Crushing injuries
Core Activity : Railcar loading
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008124490105
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A young worker started to open the sliding door to a railcar about to be loaded with pulp products. The door fell off the support brackets and to the ground, landing on top of the worker.
See a hazard alert based on this incident:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/publications/posters.asp?reportID=35327
Injury Type : Fractured fingers
Core Activity : Building supply
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154970383
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A forklift was lowering a load of pressure-treated pine decking (estimated weight of about 3,500 pounds) when the load shifted. The forklift flipped onto its side, and the operator (a young worker) was thrown from the machine.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161290196
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

The boom of a large excavator contacted a 600-volt 3-phase overhead power line. One of the lines grounded, and the pole supporting the power line fractured. The power line landed on a fence. The operator was able to back the excavator clear of the line.
Injury Type : Amputation of lower arm
Core Activity : Wood products mill
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008157380134
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker needed to remove debris from a lathe. He removed the guard and stuck his hand inside. The machine, which had not been locked out, amputated his lower arm.
See a slide show about amputations at sawmills caused by improper lockout:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=34965
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Blasting in an urban area
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163270023
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

During blasting, fly rock flew about 250 feet. The fly rock broke a window pane, roof tiles, and a vehicle's windshield. It also damaged the hood of another parked vehicle.
See a slide show about a blasting incident in which fly rock damaged several vehicles:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=34853
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Plumbing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008116120201
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A young worker was on an extension ladder when its feet kicked out and he fell to the ground (about 10 feet).
Injury Type : Fractured bones in legs
Core Activity : Residential construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970337
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A young worker was 15 feet up an unsecured extension ladder. When the base of the ladder shifted on the tiled floor, the worker rode the ladder partway down, then jumped to the floor.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560242
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

During residential framing, the jib of a 30-ton mobile crane folded over backwards.
Injury Type : Multiple contusions, bruising
Core Activity : Retail operations
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157570194
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker pursued a suspected shoplifter. The person being pursued assaulted the worker.
See a hazard alert about another shoplifting incident in which a worker was injured:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34184
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Heavy equipment service and repairs
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008158820198
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A transport truck and trailer pulled down a low-voltage power line while manoeuvring in the yard of a business.
Injury Type : Heat stress and exposure to carbon monoxide (2 workers)
Core Activity : Concrete placing and finishing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008111770087
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

Workers were finishing a large indoor area of newly poured concrete flooring. They were exposed to carbon monoxide from gasoline-powered trowels. Some workers also had symptoms of heat stress. Two workers were affected more than the others.
Read an article on the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning:
http://www.worksafebc.com/publications/newsletters/worksafe_magazine/ Assets/PDF/wsm_jul_aug_2008.pdf#pg14 [PDF 330 KB]
See a booklet on preventing heat stress at work:
http://www.worksafebc.com/publications/health_and_safety/by_topic/ assets/pdf/heat_stress.pdf [PDF 2.3 MB]
Injury Type : Head and facial injuries
Core Activity : Resort operation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008113820242
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker fell out of the box of a moving pickup truck.
Injury Type : Fatal (5 workers); serious injuries (1 worker); minor injuries (1 worker)
Core Activity : Fixed-wing visual flight rule operation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008158930178
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

An airplane crashed while transporting six workers to a remote logging operation. The pilot and four of the workers died; two other workers survived.
Injury Type : Broken bones, head laceration
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157410203
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker was standing on the top plate installing joists on the first level of a wood-frame townhouse. The worker fell 9 feet and struck his head on the concrete floor below.
Watch a video about falls from top plate:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/Videos.asp?ReportID=34743
Injury Type : Fractured arm
Core Activity : Window installation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008116120234
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

On a new building, two workers were installing a window above a lower roof edge. One worker was on the roof, the other (a young worker) in the bucket of a powered elevating platform positioned at the roof's edge and below the window provisionally placed in the framing. The worker on the roof removed the temporary metal clips (dutchies) holding the window in place to size flashing for installation around the window. The worker then went to cut the flashing without replacing the dutchies. The window tipped out of the framing and landed on the outstretched arm of the worker in the lift bucket.
Injury Type : Broken leg
Core Activity : Longline and trap fishing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147280219
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A pickup truck was on a marine dock, loading gear. As a worker placed one hand on the truck's tailgate, the tailgate unexpectedly dropped. The worker, who either was struck by the tailgate or slipped, fell about 8 feet from the dock to a float below.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Concrete pumping
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158880353
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A 52-metre concrete pump truck extended its boom, parallel with the ground, over its front outrigger. It was being used as a line pump in this configuration when the ground under the outrigger pad failed and the pump truck tipped, coming to rest on its boom tip.
Injury Type : Laceration, soft-tissue injuries, possible minor concussion
Core Activity : Truss manufacture
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008102100261
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

Slings were being rigged to offload a 530-pound parallel strand beam (34 feet long, 2 feet wide, 9 inches thick) from a flatbed semi-trailer. The unstable beam fell and struck a worker. At the time, the beam was not suspended, nor was the crane boom being operated.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Digging test holes
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008137102548
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

Workers were digging test holes for the site engineer when they contacted the protective PVC conduit of a 25-kV primary conductor.
Injury Type : Head injury, bruising, abrasions
Core Activity : Bucket lift operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008143950245
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was in a vehicle-mounted bucket lift, removing a banner from the side of a building. The worker was wearing a fall protection harness but it was not attached to the lanyard anchored on the bucket. The gate on the bucket opened, and the worker fell to the pavement about 20 feet below.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Oil and gas production
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008163790006
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A meter skid (a device for measuring natural gas) had been rebuilt and pressure tested with nitrogen. After the pressure test, a large volume of natural gas leaked.
Injury Type : Neck injury
Core Activity : Exterior painting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008090580338
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was standing on a flat-roofed carport, spraying stain onto an exterior wall of a residential complex. The worker fell off the roof and landed on the ground. The carport was located on a slope, so the distance from the roof to the ground varied from just under 10 feet to just over 11 feet. No fall protection system was in place.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Low-slope roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550171
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

During a re-roofing operation, some debris missed the debris chute. It struck a low-voltage power line adjacent to the building, causing a power outage.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Land clearing, excavation, or site surface preparation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156160231
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

During landscaping activities at a business, a propane line was severed. Utilities had not been located before excavating began.
Injury Type : Sore neck, back
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008110750257
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was on a stepladder, using a reciprocating saw. When the saw jammed, the worker lost his balance and fell 4-5 feet.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Wood pellet manufacture
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008109150435
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A bearing failed on a wood pellet press. This caused sawdust to explode inside the pellet cooler cyclone, which in turn ignited sawdust stored in the adjacent raw product room. Workers fought the resulting fire, which was eventually extinguished by firefighters.
Injury Type : Multiple broken bones
Core Activity : Re-roofing 5:12 roof
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155730188
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

During re-roofing, a worker on a 5:12 residential roof fell to the ground (about 20 feet). No guardrails or fall protection system or equipment were in place.
Read an investigation report into the death of a young construction worker who died after falling from a similar height:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/AccidentInvestigations/IR-Construction.asp?ReportID=34151
Injury Type : Severed artery
Core Activity : Construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970327
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A young worker was trying to cut a zap strap with a knife. The knife cut the strap, then slipped and severed an artery. The worker survived due to the quick action of the first aid attendant.
Injury Type : Exposure to solvent vapours
Core Activity : Light equipment, machinery or parts wholesale
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008124120187
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A young worker was overcome by solvent fumes while cleaning the inside of a waste oil tank with an aerosol can of automotive brake and parts cleaner.
Injury Type : Bruising, foot injury
Core Activity : Sailing instruction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158880340
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

Workers were launching boats from a wharf into the water. A young worker was bent down near the edge of the wharf. The worker stood up and bumped a boat that had just been positioned for launching. As a result, the worker fell from the edge of the wharf and landed on a vessel about 15 feet below.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Delivery of roofing materials
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008108440117
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

While delivering roofing materials, an articulating truck-mounted crane contacted the primary phase of an overhead 25-kV electrical line. The current passed to ground through an outrigger that was contacting an adjacent garbage dumpster. The operator was not injured.
Injury Type : Head, back, leg injuries
Core Activity : Crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700133
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A crane on a barge was picking up an aerial lift from the dock to move it onboard the barge. A worker noticed that the aerial lift's basket was impeded by a piece of equipment on the dock and worked to free it. When the basket suddenly came free, the aerial lift pivoted on the rigging and the basket started to rise with the worker hanging on. The worker fell to grade when the basket was 35 feet in the air.
Injury Type : Injuries to back, leg
Core Activity : Residential framing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450271
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A young worker was lowering tools from a third-level sundeck by slowly feeding a line attached to the tools. As he leaned over a temporary railing, it gave away and he fell 22 feet to the ground.
Injury Type : Amputation injuries to hand
Core Activity : Fishing supply manufacture
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008157490209
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was removing metal filings from the cutting area of a milling machine when one hand contacted the running saw blade.
Injury Type : Burns to upper body (1 worker); loss of consciousness (1 worker); gas inhalation, minor burns and cuts (1 worker)
Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008116120192
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

Two workers in a restaurant kitchen were seriously injured when a motor vehicle veered off the highway and crashed through the outside wall. A third worker was hurt when he tried to assist the two workers and turn off the gas flow to the ruptured gas lines.
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Grain mill
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163210015
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was on a ladder opening a feed bin door of a grain hopper when the weight of grain pushed the door open. The door struck the ladder, knocking the worker off. The worker struck a metal box before landing on the floor.
Injury Type : Neck and back injuries
Core Activity : House construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560224
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was badly injured in a fall of 10 feet from an unguarded scaffold to the concrete slab below.
Injury Type : Exposure to toxic gases
Core Activity : Mushroom farming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008163270019
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

During the production of mushroom compost (a fermentation process), a worker was overcome. The toxic process gases likely included hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S). The worker was wearing a respirator but it did not have the organic vapour cartridge appropriate for the workplace atmosphere.
Injury Type : Amputation of fingers
Core Activity : Fish processing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008137290207
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was checking for a possible blockage in the chute that delivers fish by-product to separation equipment. Several of his fingers got caught in the running conveyor auger.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Transit system construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700134
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

Transit track was being installed in a tunnel with a 5 percent grade. When the connection to an equipment trailer failed, the trailer freewheeled down the tunnel on track for about 6 blocks, then continued another 150 feet down the tunnel beyond the track.
Injury Type : Broken ribs
Core Activity : Dump truck operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560221
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

As a loaded dump truck pulled away from a dumping site, it flipped over onto the driver's side. The load of boulders had become stuck in the box so the box did not dump completely when it was raised.
Injury Type : Multiple fractured bones
Core Activity : Air conditioning work
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970321
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker fell from an extension ladder (about 15 feet).
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Municipal public works maintenance
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008136050096
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

Workers were excavating a street to locate a water leak. A 3/4-inch natural gas service line was dug up and pulled off the 3-inch main line.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Manual falling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008143950230
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A faller was resting on a stump above the road when he was fatally struck by a runaway log that came down from the forest above him.
Injury Type : Severe lacerations
Core Activity : Decommissioning a former processing plant
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008154900069
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was using a hand-held grinder to cut through a pipe 4 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick. The cutting disk shattered and severely lacerated the worker.
See a hazard alert about another worker injured while using a hand-held grinder:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34966
Injury Type : Lacerated hand
Core Activity : Backfilling a trench
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008163050040
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A skid-steer front-end loader was being used to backfill a trench. As the loader drove over some soft material, it sunk down, then flipped forward, injuring the operator (a young worker).
Injury Type : Fractured knee
Core Activity : Painting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550151
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker fell about 8 feet from an extension ladder.
Injury Type : Penetration wound to leg
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970340
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A young worker was holding a nail gun with his finger on its trigger. As he climbed onto a sawhorse, a nail discharged into his leg.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008116740003
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker died while driving from the company office to a job site. His vehicle left the road.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008128230245
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A truck-mounted crane tipped onto its side while moving a 600-pound hot tub. The crane's outriggers had not been deployed.
Injury Type : Fractured arm
Core Activity : Falling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157600147
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A faller was felling a vine maple stem about 4 inches in diameter. The stem came back at the worker, striking him and throwing him to the ground.
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Delivery of building materials
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008154900062
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was operating a three-wheel forklift on a steep driveway when he lost control of the machine.
Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Ready-mix concrete manufacture
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008029270230
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

To clear clumped material from an aggregate infeed hopper, a worker sat on the top edge of the hopper with his legs inside. The conveyor belt was running, and when the material began to move, the worker and his shovel were pulled into the hopper. His legs became wedged through a hopper gate. Another worker turned off the conveyor, and a hole was cut in the hopper to release the aggregate that pinned the worker.
Injury Type : Facial injuries
Core Activity : Recreation vehicle sales and service
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008150180147
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was using an air-operated "bumper jack" to jack up the rear end of a one-ton pickup at the trailer hitch. The jack slipped out from under the lifting point, kicked back, and struck the worker's face.
Injury Type : Scratches, bruising; possible concussion
Core Activity : Masonry installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950221
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was cleaning brick fascia. As he walked along the steel-frame scaffold work platform, he fell to the ground (about 7.5 feet).
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries, fractured leg
Core Activity : Distribution warehouse
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147280166
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A large crate of glass sheets was being loaded into a transport trailer. The crate weighed more than 2000 pounds; it was about 7.5 feet long, 3.5 feet wide, and 1 foot thick. A lift truck placed the crate on the trailer floor, then pushed the crate in an attempt to rotate it 90 degrees and place it against a wall. Instead, the crate tipped over, pinning one worker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Concrete formwork
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550164
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

As a column bulkhead (8 feet high, 14 inches in diameter) was being stripped, it fell 26 storeys.
Injury Type : Severely lacerated finger
Core Activity : Concrete pouring
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155730170
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was using a mini-grinder to cut rebar in a wall form when the grinder kicked back. One finger was cut by the running blade.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Underpass construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008113830168
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A 110-ton track-mounted mobile crane was lifting a piece of equipment weighing about 8 tons. The raised boom travelled past a critical angle into the backstops, and the crane tipped backwards. The 100-foot-long lattice boom landed on a busy highway.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Installing catch basins/sidewalks
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154960202
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

During bulk excavating for the installation of a new catch basin, the bucket of a backhoe ruptured a 60-mm gas line. The location of the gas line had not been accurately determined before excavation work began.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155070187
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

An excavator was digging to expose sewer connections when it punctured a 1.5-inch gas line. The location of the gas line had not been accurately determined before excavating began.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Shavings and sawdust hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008058250373
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A truck driver was using the truck-mounted air hose to blow excess sawdust off his truck after dumping a load. A loader in the area unexpectedly reversed, fatally crushing the truck driver between the back of the loader and the steel box of the truck.
Injury Type : Multiple broken bones
Core Activity : Residential re-roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157270253
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A young worker was accessing a steep roof from a ladder. He stepped onto some loose material and fell backwards, landing on pavement about 20 feet below. No fall protection system was in place.
Read about an incident in which another young worker died in a similar fall:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/AccidentInvestigations/IR-Construction.asp?ReportID=34151
Injury Type : Scratches, bruising
Core Activity : Farm market
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008120030192
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A forklift tipped onto its side when it was backed over an embankment by an untrained young worker.
See a video about a young worker who broke his back while operating a forklift:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/Videos.asp?reportid=34939
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Bridge and viaduct construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560214
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

During transportation, the boom and rigging of a truck-mounted crane were attached to the load. At the unloading site, before the operator could deploy the outriggers, the load was pulled off the truck deck. The crane and truck flipped onto one side.
Injury Type : Blow to head
Core Activity : Materials handling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008110210133
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was deflating dunnage bags (8 feet by 4 feet by 2.5 feet). The large bags each weighed 35 pounds and were stacked five high. A bag on the fifth row became unstable and fell, striking the worker.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries, abrasions
Core Activity : Road construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550156
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

An excavator was being loaded onto a tilt-deck trailer when it tipped upside down. The operator sustained minor injuries.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550158
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

The knuckle of an excavator contacted overhead 25-kV power lines.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Steel truss installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550159
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A forklift was moving a steel truss. The forklift was in motion with its forks elevated when it tipped onto its side.
Injury Type : Deep wound to finger
Core Activity : Manufacture of pallet pieces
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008108440108
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker attempted to reach under and through the roller/chain structure on a conveyer belt to dislodge a piece of lumber. One finger was caught between the roller and the chain.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Machine shop
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147230067
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A mobile (bull moose) crane was lifting a manufactured steel product weighing about 2 tons. During the lift, the front rigging chains were positioned outside the bowl of the hook and slipped off the hook. The product fell 3 feet to the ground, narrowly missing workers.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures of arm and leg
Core Activity : Tree services
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157450115
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

During tree cutting, a large piece of wood fell 50 feet and struck a ground worker (a young worker).
Injury Type : Strained back
Core Activity : Residential construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155730169
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was standing on a vertically stacked and banded bundle of scaffold frames (5 feet by 5 feet). When he cut the steel banding, the frames slid out from under him as the bundle partly collapsed onto its side. The worker rode the collapsing bundle to the ground.
Injury Type : Bruising, scrapes, pain
Core Activity : Site preparation
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008157440164
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

The driver of a semi-trailer dump truck was injured when the truck flopped onto the driver's side while dumping a load of soil. The trailer was stationary on a grade of 9 to 10 percent (lateral grade, perpendicular to the trailer). The truck was stationary on a lesser grade.
Injury Type : Smoke inhalation
Core Activity : Pressure washing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147280156
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was refuelling a pressure-washer engine in the box of a pickup truck when some gasoline spilled. The pressure washer engine had not cooled sufficiently from prior operation, and the fuel vapours ignited. Another worker was exposed to combustion products when he responded to the fire.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Plumbing, heating, or ventilation installation or repair
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147230068
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was trying to fix a leaky fitting on a 1.25-inch natural gas line. The fitting failed, causing a large release of natural gas.
Injury Type : Severe injury to arm
Core Activity : Fish packing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008110210128
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

As a worker reached through the top access panel of an ice flake maker, one arm got caught.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Concrete formwork
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550149
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

The welds on two separate horizontal members of a tower crane's mast section failed.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Multi-level commercial/residential building construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157270240
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

An excavator was removing ground material next to a building, to a depth of 1 to 2 feet. The excavator contacted a gas line, causing an uncontrolled release of natural gas.
Injury Type : Crush injury to finger
Core Activity : Multi-level commercial/residential construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157270241
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A young worker was grooving a 6-inch steel pipe when one finger got caught in the rollers.
Injury Type : Bruising, abrasions, laceration
Core Activity : Dump truck operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008143950217
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A dump truck and trailer pulled into a pit to unload asphalt. The operator raised the box and started to pull the truck forward. The box tipped, causing the truck and trailer to roll onto their sides.
Injury Type : Exposure to H2S gas (4 workers)
Core Activity : Oil refining
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700130
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

Excess product from a fluid catalytic cracking feed was being dumped into a 150,000-gallon slop tank. The pressure-relief valve blew, damaging the seal on the floating roof and exposing four workers, including one young worker, to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Ice arena
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008112850148
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

The ammonia alarm went off at an ice arena. The fire department responded and found that an outside valve had inadvertently been opened slightly, releasing ammonia gas into the atmosphere.
Injury Type : Serious hand injury
Core Activity : Integrated forestry management
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008131490170
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was reversing a grapple skidder into a pile of logs. A short piece of log got caught in the chains on the front skidder tire and was pushed through the lower front window (polycarbonate) of the cab. The log struck one of his hands on the steering wheel.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Integrated forest management
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980176
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

As a log was being yarded by a grapple yarder, it dislodged a large rock on the top side of the setting. The rock rolled about 220 metres, striking a hydraulic log loader and breaking off its right front track and idler.
Injury Type : Blood poisoning
Core Activity : Troll fishing
Location : USA
ID Number : 2008161530052
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A crew member aboard a BC fishing vessel contracted blood poisoning after several fish spines punctured his skin.
Injury Type : Amputation and laceration injuries to 3 fingers
Core Activity : Table saw operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008160530188
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was using a push stick to feed a piece of wood into a table saw without a guard. The wood kicked back, causing the worker's fingers to contact the saw blade.
See a slideshow about guarding for woodworking equipment:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=34503
Injury Type : Crush injuries to fingers
Core Activity : Wood product manufacture
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008136900129
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker grabbed the end of a 2-foot-long 2x6 trim block on a moving conveyor. His hand was pinned against a steel support beam.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries to arm
Core Activity : Bridge and viaduct construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560215
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A modified work bridge collapsed during concrete placing and finishing of a bridge deck.
Injury Type : Puncture wound
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008131490167
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was connecting the track on a piece of mobile equipment. When he struck the connecting pin with a sledge hammer, a small fragment of steel sheared off the pin and struck the worker assisting him.
Injury Type : Irritation of skin, eyes, nose, mouth, upper respiratory tract (2 workers)
Core Activity : Installing cabinetry
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008110750228
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

During renovations to a law enforcement facility, ballistic sheathing (continuous-filament fibreglass and cured polyester resin in styrene) was being cut to size with a portable circular saw equipped with a diamond blade saw. There were no effective controls to prevent the airborne release of fibrous material. Two workers were exposed to fragments of fibreglass and the binding used in the sheathing.
Injury Type : Crush injury to finger
Core Activity : Utility maintenance
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008111970194
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker pulled on a limit switch on the boom of a rubber-tired crane. The boom section moved, and the worker was unable to withdraw his hand quickly enough to avoid one finger being crushed.
Injury Type : Fractured arm
Core Activity : Masonry
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008160850143
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker fell while carrying a bucket of mortar down a 14-foot ladder.
Injury Type : Bruising and soreness to most of body
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156160203
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

An unloaded logging truck was travelling on a forest road. When the driver tried to avoid hitting a deer, the truck caught the fill-slope road edge, then flipped off the road and landed on its side.
Injury Type : Fractured arm
Core Activity : Painting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970260
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was on a ladder, painting trim outside a house. The worker fell to a concrete patio about 16 feet below.
Injury Type : Bruises to upper body
Core Activity : Log home construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008131490176
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A young worker was standing on floor joists on the first level of a log home under construction. As he guided a log post that was being landed on that level, he lost his balance and fell to grade (about 9 feet, 8 inches).
Injury Type : Crushed leg
Core Activity : Logging
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008157620162
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

During hoe forwarding, the top of an 81-foot-high fir penetrated the guarding of the hoe, injuring the operator's leg.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Land clearing site services
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008113820221
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was falling trees to clear an area in front of a viewing platform. As he was falling a large alder (85 feet tall, 16 inches in diameter) that was leaning about 20 degrees downhill, the tree "barberchaired" (split vertically) to a height of 18 feet. The butt of the tree struck the worker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Concrete placing and finishing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008064400009
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

The boom-side outriggers of a 50-metre concrete pump truck slipped off the ground support pads. They sank in soft clay soil, causing the pump truck to tip onto its side.
Injury Type : Hip injury
Core Activity : Freight delivery
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008117640312
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A delivery truck driver was delivering a 400-pound refrigerator to a house. As he manoeuvred the refrigerator up the two steps at the entrance, he slipped. The fridge landed on his hip, trapping him between the stairs and the delivery trolley.
Injury Type : Minor injuries
Core Activity : Building materials delivery
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157410178
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A mobile crane truck tipped over as it placed a load of lumber in a homeowner's backyard. The crane operator was pinned between the truck and a fence that was knocked down during the incident.
Injury Type : Fractures, lacerations
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008114050120
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A loaded log transporter went out of control while travelling on a paved secondary road.
Injury Type : Facial lacerations
Core Activity : Storm sewer installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560204
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was injured when the gas-powered cutoff saw he was operating kicked back. The diamond-tooth saw blade (14 inches in diameter) caught his face. The worker was wearing safety glasses, and the guard was in place on the saw.
Injury Type : Amputated finger
Core Activity : Residential construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008156730372
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was using a circular saw to cut shims when one finger contacted the blade.
Injury Type : Lacerations, contusions
Core Activity : Building supplies delivery
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240155
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A worker was unloading wood panels from inside a delivery van. An upright stack of eight 4x8 panels of fibreboard fell over, pinning the worker to the floor of the van.
See a hazard alert about a worker who was fatally crushed while unloading a stack of fencing panels:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34722
Injury Type : Bruising, abrasions
Core Activity : Concrete pouring
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980159
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

As concrete was being placed for a suspended concrete roof slab (8 inches thick), part of the shoring collapsed. A worker was injured, and the concrete rebar mat and formwork fell 20 feet to the basement level.
Injury Type : Head and possible spinal injuries
Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147230059
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

To gain access to a locked office, a worker climbed a ladder to the area above ceiling tiles. The worker fell through the ceiling tiles to the office floor (about 10 feet).
Injury Type : Lacerated finger
Core Activity : Residential garbage collection
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155270201
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

As a worker grabbed a bag of garbage out of a garbage can, he was cut by a sharp object. The worker was reportedly not wearing protective gloves.
Injury Type : Second-degree burns
Core Activity : Paving services or asphalt manufacture
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008161980266
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

An articulating crane truck was installing a large construction notice sign beside the road. The crane's boom contacted a 14.4-kV power line overhead.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Residential wood-frame construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560198
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A 35-ton mobile truck crane tipped over during a lift. The crane boom crashed through both the wood-frame building under construction and the roof of the car wash next door. The load (a prefabricated bachelor suite, complete with floor, walls, windows, and patio door) was reduced to a pile of rubble when it landed in the parking lot between the two buildings.
Injury Type : Broken bones, internal injuries
Core Activity : Masonry construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560195
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A young worker fell 18 feet when he stepped on an unsupported scaffold plank. He had just adjusted the plank in preparation for raising a mast-climbing work platform past the braces anchoring the scaffold to the face of the building.
Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Wood preserving
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157600131
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A young worker planted a peevee near the end of a 75-foot-long log pole that was laid across two skid logs in order to rotate it. A second worker was ready to block the pole to prevent it from rolling too far. The first worker pulled on the peevee handle. The peevee came loose and the worker fell backwards.
Injury Type : Scrapes, possible fractures
Core Activity : Warehouse
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008152480158
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

Two workers were trying to remove a 4x8 sheet of fibreboard from a load of about 20 sheets. The sheets were stacked upright against the warehouse wall when 15 of the sheets fell over, striking one of the workers.
Injury Type : Deep leg laceration
Core Activity : Warehouse
Location :