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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

2008 Apr - June

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road maintenance
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008138190225
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A vehicle bridge spanning a river between a town and an industrial site collapsed.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries, lacerations
Core Activity : Residential framing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450226
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was attaching fascia boards. He was leaning on the fascia to complete nailing when previously inserted nails let go, causing the worker to fall to grade (17 feet). No fall protection system was being used.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebrae, cracked ribs
Core Activity : Cable yarding
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008160530184
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A hooktender (a young worker) was struck in the back by a 50-foot dry cedar log (17 inches in diameter) that caught on a stump and swung. The worker, who was standing 40 feet from the log, was bunted through the air for about 50 feet and landed in logging debris.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Concrete formwork
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008160530173
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A rough terrain forklift was lifting a concrete form. The forklift's left front tire crawled up onto a rock, causing the load to sway. The forklift tipped onto its side.
Injury Type : Fractured facial bones
Core Activity : Residential framing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008160530161
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

During framing, a young worker fell 15 feet. He landed on his feet, then fell forward and struck the ground with his head. No fall protection system was being used.
Read about an incident in which a young worker died in a fall of just 18.5 feet:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/AccidentInvestigations/IR-Construction.asp?ReportID=34151
Injury Type : Multiple fractures of leg, injury to arm
Core Activity : Dryland sort
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008152480178
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A self-loading logging truck was contracted to unload a hay rack truck loaded with large-diameter wet Sitka spruce logs. Because of the large diameter of the logs, the logging truck's grapple hook was not able to reach around the logs to lift them. The operator decided to lift only a corner of each log with the grapple, then climb on top of the load, choke a chain around the log, and sling each log to the ground. As he attempted to wrap a chain around one partially suspended log, the log slipped out of the grapple hook and struck the worker, causing him to fall 8 feet to the ground.
Injury Type : Shoulder strain
Core Activity : Municipal bus service
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008150180137
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A bus driver was assaulted by an unknown individual.
Injury Type : Crushing injuries to arm
Core Activity : Baked goods manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008128230208
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker's arm was drawn into a dough-breaking machine when one hand inadvertently contacted the infeed rollers.
See a video about how a similar incident affected a young worker and her family (4 min 29 sec): http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/Videos.asp?ReportID=34941
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Sports arena
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560142
Date of Incident : 2008-May

Just before an arena opened for a large event, a gas explosion occurred in a rooftop air-handling unit. Two access panels blew open and the chimney stack was blown off the unit. Natural gas from the unit accumulated and could be smelled in some areas of the arena.
Injury Type : Minor injuries
Core Activity : Bridge and culvert construction
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008124490094
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A rock truck was descending a steep grade when the brakes failed. To avoid running over other workers on the site, the operator steered the unit down a 30 percent slope off the road grade. The rock truck came to a stop in the creek at the bottom of the hill; the operator sustained minor injuries.
Injury Type : Severe lacerations
Core Activity : Plant operations, custodial services
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147280140
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was exiting a building through a glass door. As he contacted the glass, it broke.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Drilling operations
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008144250147
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A drilling rig was running a test on a downhole mud pump. The operator of the hoisting controls chained down the brake control lever and left the area. The hoisting equipment lowered itself to the drilling rig floor. The equipment was damaged, but no workers were injured.
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Excavation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117080201
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A backhoe was operating under a horizontal shoring brace (strut) in a bulk excavation. The backhoe's boom contacted the brace, causing it to fall off its support on one end and strike a worker.
Injury Type : 2nd- and 3rd-degree electrical burns
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008112850138
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker had left his hard hat in a 25-kV electrical unit. When he tried to retrieve it some time later, he inadvertently contacted the high-voltage conductor.
Injury Type : Burns to hands
Core Activity : Marine craft structural repair
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008113820208
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was in the hold of a vessel, grinding rigid foam insulation, when a fire started. The worker climbed out of the hold and placed the hatch covers over the hold in an attempt to suppress the fire.
Injury Type : Laceration, bruising
Core Activity : General trucking
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980135
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A tandem trailer chip truck struck a road barrier and rolled onto its passenger side.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Tree trimming services
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158910118
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was trimming trees on a residential property. The worker was later found deceased at the base of a tree. Preliminary investigation indicates that the worker died of injuries caused by severe blunt force trauma.
Injury Type : Crushing injuries to arm
Core Activity : Baked goods manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008128230208
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker's arm was drawn into a dough-breaking machine when one hand inadvertently contacted the infeed rollers.
Injury Type : Exposure to unknown air contaminants (5 workers)
Core Activity : Recreation facility
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008137102534
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

Air contaminants at a recreation facility caused five workers - including two young workers - to feel nauseated and dizzy, and to have difficulty breathing. The building was evacuated and emergency personnel attended.
Injury Type : Neck and head contusions
Core Activity : Exterior window installation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008137290195
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A young worker was installing windows on the ground floor of a building when he was struck by one of four scaffold work platforms that fell from 8 and 15 feet above him.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : New and used warehouse supplies
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008144660099
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

During yard clean-up, an unknown solvent spilled from two rusted-out 25-gallon drums.
Injury Type : Crush injury to leg
Core Activity : Fertilizer mixing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158910116
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A young worker was on the upper steel framework at the back of a concrete mixing truck feeding light pebble material from a raised pallet into the feed hopper of the rotating mixing drum. His foot got caught in the feed mixing drum, and he was found with his leg wedged between the feed hopper and the mixing drum.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavation and site preparation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950191
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

An excavator was preparing a test hole when the excavator bucket contacted and removed a concrete duct bank. The bank was protecting energized 12.5-kV and 600-volt conductors. The 600-volt copper conductors were damaged.
Injury Type : Compound fracture of leg
Core Activity : Concrete formwork
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008117640296
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

During formwork stripping, a formwork panel fell away from an unsecured shore support that slid back into itself. A worker jumped from a height of about 6 feet to avoid being struck by the falling panel. The worker's leg struck an excavator bucket stored in the area where he landed.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Rock hauling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550141
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A tandem tractor with an end-dump trailer unit was offloading rock when it tipped onto the driver's side. The box was in the uppermost position, and the tractor trailer was parked where there was a grade of 2 to 3 percent from the driver's side to the passenger's side.
Injury Type : Temporary loss of consciousness, bruising, laceration
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008108440096
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was standing on a floor joist that he had not yet nailed into place on top of a wall. The end of the joist dislodged, and the worker and joist fell 8 feet to the floor below.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : Structural metal processing and fabrication
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157450103
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A lift truck was moving a load of metal plates. When the lift truck stopped, the load slid forward off the forks and fell onto a worker.
Injury Type : Abrasions, possible concussion
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008111110277
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker monitoring an infeed conveyor may have suffered a concussion when he tripped.
Injury Type : Crushing injury to arm
Core Activity : Metal recycling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008156580177
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker's arm got caught in the nip point of a conveyor belt and the head drum.
Injury Type : Lacerations, bruising
Core Activity : Farming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008108440094
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A motor vehicle struck the back of a farm tractor travelling on a public roadway. The operator of the tractor was injured when he was thrown clear as the tractor rolled onto its side after impact.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures, internal injuries
Core Activity : Plumbing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550137
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A young worker fell through an opening in a metal Q-deck roof. The worker landed on the concrete slab about 26 feet below. No fall protection system was being used.
See a hazard alert about an incident in which another young worker was seriously injured when he fell through a roof opening:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34669
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road excavation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008162680016
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

Two workers were exposing an underground gas line using hand shovels. A large piece of asphalt hit and bent a 6-inch gas nipple that was not yet exposed, creating a small crack in the gas line. No evacuation was required.
Injury Type : Concussion, laceration
Core Activity : Ferry service
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154960165
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker descended a stairwell on a ferry during a fire drill. The worker fell through an open hatch and landed 4 metres below. The deck hatch had been opened so an engine part needing maintenance could be removed.
Injury Type : Electric shock, lacerated arm
Core Activity : Store renovation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145130253
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was on a stepladder, removing a conduit elbow, when he contacted a live 347-volt conductor. The worker then fell to the ground (about 6 feet), injuring his arm.
Injury Type : Smoke inhalation and minor injuries (8 workers)
Core Activity : Plumbing, heating, ventilation, or air conditioning repair
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008159220026
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

During plant renovations, fire broke out as a large industrial dehumidifier was being welded. Workers managed to contain the fire, but areas near the dehumidifier were damaged by smoke and water. Eight workers, including 3 young workers, were treated for smoke inhalation and minor injuries; 180 workers were evacuated.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebrae and ribs
Core Activity : Concrete formwork
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700116
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker fell 13 feet from concrete falsework.
Injury Type : Exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) gas (27 workers)
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008112850130
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

Workers in an office building were overcome by an accumulation of carbon monoxide gas. It is suspected that the heating unit malfunctioned.
Injury Type : Critical injuries
Core Activity : Installing insulation around mechanical piping system
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117080172
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker operating a scissor lift was caught between the lift's top guardrail and the mechanical piping system in the ceiling space.
Injury Type : Lacerations
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008112850128
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker sat down on a conveyor belt to rest. The belt started, throwing the worker off balance and carrying him about 30 feet. The worker struck the back of his head on a cross-beam while trying to get off the belt.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Integrated forest management
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008136960222
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A grapple yarder contacted an overhead high-voltage (25-kV) power line while attempting to travel under it.
Injury Type : Neck and back injuries
Core Activity : Low-slope roofing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970240
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker fell about 11.5 feet from a flat roof.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008140710482
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A 20-ton rough terrain crane was unloading ventilation components from a truck. The crane's outriggers had been lowered but not extended. As the crane was placing a load weighing 1,100 pounds on the ground, the crane became unstable and tipped over. A nearby worker had to dive out of the way to avoid being struck.
Injury Type : Lacerations, soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Low-slope roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161770310
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A roofer fell approximately 20 feet from a sloped roof, landing on a 2x10 access plank. No system of fall protection was being used.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008113820205
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A loaded highway log-hauling truck went out of control on a public highway. The tractor separated from the trailer, and the load of logs spilled. The driver was not injured.
Injury Type : Bruises and abrasions (2 workers)
Core Activity : Sheet metal and ventilation work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157410157
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

Two workers were carrying an exhaust fan (60-70 pounds) on the roof of a paint booth that was being dismantled. When they approached the leading edge of the booth, it partially collapsed, causing both workers to fall. One worker fell to grade (9 feet), the other fell onto a scissor lift (5 feet). The exhaust fan fell and struck the worker on the scissor lift.
Injury Type : Crushed leg
Core Activity : Drilling geothermal pipe
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155730155
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

An on-site excavator was hoisting a grout plant that needed to be relocated, using chains supplied by the drilling crew. While the excavator was stationary, the workers began to manoeuvre the load. The chains at one end failed, causing the grout plant to hit the ground and pin a young worker.
Injury Type : Crush injuries to foot
Core Activity : Produce storage
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008125400168
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

In a warehouse, a forklift bumped into a powered pallet jack. As a result, the pallet jack pinned a young worker's foot against storage racking.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Barge repositioning
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154970321
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

Two loaded chip scows (barges) were approaching the harbour near a paper mill. A worker was trying to couple the two scows in preparation for delivery when he was crushed between them.
Injury Type : Exposure to chlorine gas (2 workers)
Core Activity : Recreation facility
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008090880093
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

As a nut on a chlorine supply line was being tightened, the line disconnected from the cylinder, releasing chlorine gas. Two workers, including one young worker, were in the area at the time.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Blasting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240138
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A blaster loaded 35 holes. When the holes were fired, the centre of the blast area erupted upward, lifting the mats and overburden about 100 feet into the air. Fly rock damaged the roof of an adjacent building, but no one was hurt. The blaster had not provided a relief hole for the blast.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Blasting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980132
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

When a blast was fired for the excavation of a sewer line trench, fly rock was ejected about 75 metres from the front of the blast. It struck the roofs of adjacent homes and a parked car, but no one was injured.
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Manual tree falling and bucking
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161750123
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A balsam tree (12 inches in diameter) was hung up. As a faller attempted to remove the hazard, he was struck by the top of the balsam.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Water main installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155270183
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A self-guided pneumatic pipe-placing device was tunnelling an underground connection for a new water main. It struck and ruptured the existing asbestos-concrete 8-inch water main.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Pavement restoration
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008116120138
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A truck-mounted micro-surfacing machine (used to restore and preserve pavement) tipped over when its rear wheels went off the pavement onto a soft shoulder.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebra
Core Activity : General maintenance work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008139860098
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was climbing a stepladder to change a light bulb. About halfway to the top, he fell.
Injury Type : Arm and leg injuries
Core Activity : Trucking
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157600115
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

As a tractor-trailer was hauling a container on a highway bypass, it scraped along the outside concrete barriers. The container and trailer flipped over the barriers and "cork-screwed" the tractor with it. The tractor cab landed on top of the barriers, while the container and trailer came to rest on the other side of the barriers, at a 45-degree angle on the outside embankment.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Retail store
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117670530
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

Shortly after a store opened, two masked men walked in. One headed for the pharmacy with a sawed-off shotgun. The other jumped the front counter and went through the till.
Injury Type : Compression injuries
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008116120130
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was caught between the plate compactor he was operating and a skid-steer loader moving in reverse.
Injury Type : Penetration wound to leg
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450199
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was descending a ladder when he inadvertently shot a 3.5-inch spike into his leg. He was carrying the nail gun with his finger on the trigger. All safety systems were in place and functioning. The nail gun was set to activate on tip contact when the trigger was pulled.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Arm contusion
Core Activity : Construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980120
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A supervisor physically assaulted a worker.
Injury Type : Exposure to a noxious substance
Core Activity : Correctional facility
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008090580279
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

About half an hour after drinking a cup of coffee, a young worker felt dizzy and his arms felt numb. The investigation found that inmates had placed a noxious substance in the worker's coffee.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970220
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

An excavator damaged a 7200-volt conductor while excavating at a construction site. The locate had been done several months earlier and had not shown any underground utilities. Since that time, underground utilities had been installed. A locate is valid for only 10 days.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Formwork
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117080170
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A tower crane was unloading reinforcing steel from a flatbed truck on a busy street, close to energized low-voltage electrical transit feeder lines. The load of steel was rigged at two ends. As the load was lifted, it shifted and the rigging chains contacted a transit feeder line. The line was guarded, but the chains contacted an exposed part.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebrae
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008160580138
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was on an 8-foot stepladder on the second storey of a wood-frame structure. He was placing a 2x10 joist along the second-storey top plate walls. The joist became unbalanced, slipped off the top plate, and struck the worker, causing him to fall 18.5 feet to grade.
Injury Type : Dizziness, nausea
Core Activity : Chemical manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008119270156
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker became ill while helping to clean up a liquid colourant that had spilled.
Injury Type : Fractured arm, bruising, small laceration
Core Activity : Tree trimming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155400196
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was on an orchard ladder, using a chainsaw to cut a limb from a tree. The limb, which was 8 inches in diameter, fell onto the worker and the ladder.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Highrise residential construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008116120140
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

The roof of an external personnel hoist car struck the underside of a tower crane's boom. The hoist operator was bringing it to a stop at the top floor of the building when the incident occurred. The previous day, the tower crane had been lowered four sections in preparation for final dismantling.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Oil and gas drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008158820161
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A drilling rig was being moved. A loaded pole truck (a flatbed truck with "A" frame winch) was backing up. Two workers (swampers) were steadying the load. One worker tripped and was run over by the pole truck.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Recreation facility
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008107200094
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A pool maintenance worker went to top up the level in a pool chlorination tank. Instead of sodium hypochlorite, he mistakenly poured muriatic acid into the tank. The resulting chemical reaction released chlorine gas so the building had to be evacuated. Four workers and more than 20 members of the public were unharmed.
Injury Type : Crush injuries to arm
Core Activity : Produce distribution
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145570077
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker activated the dock leveller to prepare for unloading his truck. One arm became trapped between the dock and the dock plate when the dock plate was lowered into position.
Injury Type : Exposure to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas
Core Activity : Maintenance activities
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008159010140
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

As a worker was unbolting a pipe blind on a flare stack assembly, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas was unexpectedly released. The worker experienced shortness of breath and burning in his eyes and nose, followed by dizziness and confusion.
Injury Type : Broken leg
Core Activity : Seismic falling and clearing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008159010139
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A faller was falling a tree (25 feet tall, 7 inches in diameter) on a downslope. As it fell, the tree struck an adjacent tree, then kicked back and struck the faller.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Cleaning catch basins
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157410147
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A vacuum truck was turning around when its raised boom snagged a telecommunications line and support wire, knocking them to the ground. A nearby utility pole was damaged, and two 7,200-volt power lines were pulled off their insulators.
Injury Type : Bruising and sprain to leg
Core Activity : Paving
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145130229
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was raking freshly laid asphalt when a 20-ton rubber-tired roller ran over his leg.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Underground boring for utilities installation
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008159010138
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

During horizontal boring in preparation for installing underground telecommunications cable, a reamer tool ruptured a gas line. Utility lines had been located and exposed before boring began.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161740112
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

At a remote work site, a worker died of anaphylactic shock. It is suspected that he had an allergic reaction to food.
Injury Type : Electric shock
Core Activity : Tree services
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154960153
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was in an elevated work platform, pruning vegetation hanging near a 25-kV overhead power line. The worker received an electric shock when a branch he tried to throw clear contacted the power line.
Injury Type : Injuries to arm, leg, face
Core Activity : Re-roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155400194
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A new and young worker fell about 13 feet to the ground when he slipped off a roof in the rain. The worker had not been given any fall protection training or orientation.
Sections 3.22 to 3.25 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation deal with training and orientation of new (and young) workers. A guideline to help implement them is available at:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/OHSRegulation/ GuidelinePart3.asp#SectionNumber:G3.23
Read a hazard alert about an incident in which a worker died when he slipped off a roof:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=35034
Injury Type : Laceration to finger
Core Activity : Exterior painting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155270179
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was on a cedar shake roof (slope of 6:12) scraping paint from wood fascia at the outer face of a chimney. When the plastic drop sheet he was standing on slipped, the worker lost his balance and fell. He grabbed the aluminum gutter on his way down, but it broke away and he fell to the ground (about 15 feet). The worker was not using any fall protection.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Site preparation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158880256
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

An excavator contacted an overhead 12.5-kV power line while installing a water service.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures of arm
Core Activity : Plastic recycling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008108440089
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

The operator of a garbage truck placed one arm on the open rear deck while bending over to fix the rear backup light. His arm was crushed when another worker activated the control to close the gate.
Injury Type : Amputation of fingers
Core Activity : Metal product fabrication
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970233
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker's hand was caught in the press he was operating.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures and lacerations
Core Activity : Timber harvesting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008160530157
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A rubber-tired skidder had previously become stuck with its right front wheel over the bank of a skid trail. A worker climbed into the cab and the machine began to roll over before the worker could get seated. The skidder rolled over twice on a slope of 39 percent before stopping about 21 metres downslope.
Injury Type : Fractured legs, laceration
Core Activity : Cutting lawn
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008104070087
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was mowing a lawn using a ride-on mower without a rollover protective structure (ROPS). The mower failed to negotiate a right-hand turn and rolled over a bank (45 percent grade).
Injury Type : Head and back injuries
Core Activity : Liquor store
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157600117
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

Two workers accessed a mezzanine-level storage area using a stepladder. One worker fell through a section of false ceiling and landed on the concrete floor 12 feet below.
Injury Type : Electric shock
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550130
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A backhoe contacted an underground 600-volt electrical conductor. The operator sustained an electric shock.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebra, contusions, lacerated hand
Core Activity : Steep-slope roofing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008137290167
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker fell about 8 feet from an extension ladder.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Community health service
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240120
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A motor vehicle driven by a member of the public went out of control. It came to rest in the reception area of a workplace. One worker was injured by flying debris.
Injury Type : Concussion, head laceration, back strain
Core Activity : Window replacement
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161750101
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker was on a sloped cedar shake roof replacing a residential window. The worker fell about 10 feet from the roof to the concrete driveway below.
Injury Type : Facial laceration, contusions
Core Activity : Tire servicing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008105910112
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A young worker had repaired a damaged inside tire from the trailer of a dump truck. The worker placed the tire on the rim, then began to mount the outside tire on the rim. As the worker began to bolt the outside tire in place, the bead of the inside tire crept over the wheel, releasing air and forcing the unsecured outside tire off the rim.
See a slide show about accidents in which workers were killed or injured while servicing tires:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=34001
Injury Type : Fractured ribs
Core Activity : Fish packing
Location : Northwest BC
ID Number : 2008157490150
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

An 18-metre fishing vessel with three crew on board ran aground. A worker from another vessel, who came to help, was injured during the emergency response.
Injury Type : Fractured leg, laceration
Core Activity : Public school
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008138190139
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A worker fell about 5 feet from a rolling scaffold system, which then fell over and landed on him.
Injury Type : Broken arm
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560177
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

On a construction site, a worker stepped onto an unsecured ladder to descend to a lower floor. The base of the ladder, which stood on a smooth concrete floor, slid outwards. The worker reached between the rungs to try to grab the upper floor as the ladder slid with his weight on it. His arm was caught between a rung and the upper floor.
Injury Type : Fractured arm (1 worker); bruises (1 worker)
Core Activity : Travelling from remote worksite
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008159010119
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

Two workers were returning home from a remote worksite in a pickup truck when it was side-swiped by a vehicle that lost control while trying to pass. The passing lane was blocked by a third vehicle waiting to turn left at an intersection. The worker driving the pickup (a young worker) sustained arm injuries; the worker in the passenger seat was bruised.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Manual falling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008152480118
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A manual tree faller was discovered unresponsive where he had been falling trees.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Well drilling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980115
Date of Incident : 2008-May

While drilling a well, the drill contacted underground power and telecommunications lines.
Injury Type : Internal injuries, bruises
Core Activity : Berry farming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117930074
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A young worker was pinned against the bucket of an excavator by a dump truck that was backing up. The "knuckle" of the bucket stopped the backward progression of the dump truck, preventing further injury to the worker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Prime contractor
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155730127
Date of Incident : 2008-May

An excavator contacted a gas line connection nipple while repositioning alongside the already-exposed gas line.
Injury Type : Laceration, bruising
Core Activity : Oilfield fluid hauling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008153370138
Date of Incident : 2008-May

The driver of an oilfield fluid hauling truck was injured when the truck left the travelled portion of a petroleum development road. The driver had just called his kilometres (position and direction of travel) over the road radio frequency and had taken his eyes off the road while placing the microphone back in its holder.
Injury Type : Exposure to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas
Core Activity : Oil or gas production
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008159010115
Date of Incident : 2008-May

During a coil tubing drilling operation, a pumper operator was briefly exposed to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas that escaped from the hatch of a 400-barrel tank. The tank was overpressured because excess well-workover fluids had been pumped into it.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Tower crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008115132175
Date of Incident : 2008-May

The jib of a lower tower crane contacted the hoist line of a higher tower crane.
Injury Type : Exposure to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas
Core Activity : Oil or gas production
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008124490086
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was inspecting a metering building on a well site. As he opened the door to the building, his gas detection monitor went off. The worker experienced dizziness, headache, and nausea, but was able to transport himself to medical aid.
Injury Type : Fractured arm, back injury
Core Activity : Installation of glass window
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008139860090
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was on a ladder at a height of about 7-8 feet (2.5 m) when he slipped and fell.
Injury Type : Head laceration, arm abrasions
Core Activity : Electrical work
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008120030153
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was on a 10-foot stepladder, pulling 3/8-inch armoured electrical cable across the T-bar of a false ceiling. He lost his balance and fell about 7 feet. His head was lacerated when it struck a piece of furniture on the way down.
Injury Type : Head laceration
Core Activity : Warehouse operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157450081
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was using a mobile ladder to access stock on the top shelf of racking. The worker fell to the warehouse floor, about 14 feet.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Pulp and paper operation
Location : BC
ID Number : 2008136050063
Date of Incident : 2008-May

An engineered below-the-hook lifting device failed as a crane was lifting the dock end of a barge loading ramp. The loading ramp dropped 3 to 4 feet and came to rest on the concrete edge of the dock.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Water main installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560162
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A 2-cubic-metre block of earth collapsed from the side of a 14-foot-deep trench. The earth landed on three suspended conduits, which housed electrical conductors that crossed the trench. Three 25-kV electrical conductors were pulled out of a nearby kiosk. At the time of the incident, crews were removing and relocating an excavation shoring cage to the opposite side of the conduits.
Injury Type : Fractured shoulder
Core Activity : Tree planting
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161750105
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker planting trees on a steep slope stepped onto a log that started rolling downhill.
Injury Type : Smoke inhalation (4 workers)
Core Activity : Plywood manufacture
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008140710409
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A fire broke out in the veneer dryers at a plywood plant. The fire spread and eventually destroyed the whole plant.
Injury Type : Compound fracture of leg
Core Activity : Integrated forest management
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008136960192
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A faller was wedging over a cedar tree 3 feet in diameter when it came over sideways. The faller tried to use his alternate escape route but tripped over a high root. The tree landed on his leg.
Injury Type : Fractured and bruised ribs
Core Activity : Seismic upgrading
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008116270117
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was placing plywood and a tarp on top of a scaffold being used as a weather enclosure when he fell about 7 feet.
Injury Type : Puncture wound to leg
Core Activity : Window trim installation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008159110103
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was on the second level of a scaffold system, applying backing strips for exterior window trim. While the worker was in a crouched position, holding a nail gun, the scaffold moved slightly. The worker reacted by moving his hand, causing the nail gun to discharge a 2.5-inch nail into his leg.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Site preparation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008115132166
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A backhoe broke through an unidentified underground concrete electrical kiosk. One 12-kV conductor was damaged when the broken concrete was removed.
Injury Type : Laceration, soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Mobile crane operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157270190
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A young worker was hooking a beam to a mobile crane. He had attached one strap to the crane and was trying to attach the other strap when the beam lifted, causing the worker to fall about 8 feet.
Injury Type : Penetration wound to leg
Core Activity : Wooden truss construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008160530152
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A young worker was walking with a nail gun in hand and one finger on the trigger. The nail gun discharged a 1.5-inch nail into his leg.
Read a bulletin about safe work practices for nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Metal installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117080156
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A forklift picked up a load of steel from a flatbed truck parked on the street. The forklift operator then raised the forks about 8 feet, to enter the work site through a gate. As the forklift was travelling with the load in a raised position, its front wheels contacted a plywood cover on an opening in the floor. The forklift and load of steel tipped forward. The forklift operator was wearing a seat belt and was not injured.
Injury Type : Electric shock
Core Activity : Installing precast concrete panels
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008115132168
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was hanging precast concrete panels. He was holding on to a steel stud in the building that had become energized by a bare cable from a welding machine. When the worker grabbed the chains hanging from the crane, he became grounded and sustained an electrical shock.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Logging road construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161740087
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A blast appeared to have misfired. The blaster waited 40 minutes before returning to the blast site. At the blast site, he cut the safety fuse assembly from the shock tube and threw it away. The safety fuse assembly exploded.
Injury Type : Laceration injuries to 3 fingers
Core Activity : Commercial marine vessel repair
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008159110105
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was using a chop saw to cut sticks of wood to stir paint. He placed a stick on the table of the saw. As he cut through the stick, it twisted and pulled his hand into the saw blade. The stick may not have been placed against the backrest of the saw.
Injury Type : Burns
Core Activity : Metal fabrication
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008112850115
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker had finished welding a pipe at one end. The pipe was spun around so he could complete the weld on the opposite end. While welding, the worker leaned against the hot end of the welded pipe, causing his clothes to catch fire.
Injury Type : Broken knee
Core Activity : Roofing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008157490139
Date of Incident : 2008-May

During re-roofing, a worker fell about 18 feet.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Dairy farming
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008159220009
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A young worker was using a skid-steer loader to push manure into an open manure pit. The loader was later found overturned and submerged in the pit, with the worker in the cab.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Farm labour supply
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008125400153
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A vehicle being used to transport farm workers lost a wheel while travelling on a highway. None of the 23 workers in the bus was injured.
Read a report into the investigation of an accident in which 3 farm workers died when a 15-passenger van rolled over:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/AccidentInvestigations/IR-Transportation.asp?ReportID=34877
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Structural concrete forming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950152
Date of Incident : 2008-May

Workers were stripping the perimeter concrete walls on the sixth floor of a highrise building. A steel wall form panel was dislodged, broke through the wooden guardrails, and fell to the ground. The steel formwork was about 3.3 m x 1.6 m and weighed 200 kilograms; it crushed a metal storage crate.
Injury Type : Fractured wrist
Core Activity : Residential construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008160530136
Date of Incident : 2008-May

While installing a joist on a beam, a worker tripped and fell 9 feet to grade.
Injury Type : Fractured bones, internal injuries
Core Activity : Steep-slope roofing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008118870387
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker on a roof with a 7:12 slope turned to accept a roll of felt paper. He lost his footing and fell to grade (about 14 feet). A fall protection system was not in place.
Injury Type : Minor injuries
Core Activity : Framing and residential forming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117670520
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A rough-terrain forklift tipped over while lifting a load on uneven ground.
Injury Type : Cracked and broken bones, extensive bruising
Core Activity : Gravel trucking and excavating
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008117640241
Date of Incident : 2008-May

The driver of a gravel truck was unhooking an equipment trailer from the truck when the gravel truck started moving away from him. He ran after the vehicle, stepped onto the running board, and opened the door of the truck just as the door struck a tree. The driver was crushed between the tree and the truck's body and fell from the running board after the truck moved past the tree.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Concrete pumping
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158880235
Date of Incident : 2008-May

As a concrete pump was placing concrete in a wallform, the boom contacted an overhead high-voltage power line.
Injury Type : Broken leg, injuries to pelvis and ribs, temporary loss of consciousness
Core Activity : Helicopter logging
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157600107
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A hooktender was working on a steep slope, choking logs to be picked up by the helicopter. A large log rolled down the hill and struck him from behind. No helicopters were in the immediate vicinity at that time, so rotor wash is not suspected to have dislodged the log.
Injury Type : Amputation of one finger, laceration of another
Core Activity : Cutting hardwood flooring
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155730126
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was showing another worker how to make a cut using a bench-mounted table saw. As he lowered the piece of wood onto the blade, the wood caught and pulled across the blade, which amputated one finger. The guard had been removed from the table saw.
See a slide show about guarding for woodworking:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=34503
Injury Type : Electrical burn to arm
Core Activity : Preparation for painting
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008117640240
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was caulking baseboards in a closet when his arm contacted an energized electrical wire. The worker sustained an electrical burn.
Injury Type : Fractured legs
Core Activity : Tree planting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008152480130
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A tree planter was working on a rocky hillside. The worker slipped and fell, then slid off a 25-foot cliff. Emergency evacuation of the injured worker took several hours.
Injury Type : Bruised ribs
Core Activity : Decking application
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008124710202
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was setting up his tools to start work on an unsheathed portion of a sundeck. He lost his footing and fell through the open joists to the ground 9 feet below, landing on debris.
Injury Type : Injuries to one hand, abrasions
Core Activity : Painting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155730111
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A young worker was on a work platform, preparing to paint an entry canopy. The worker stepped back and fell from the unguarded edge of the platform. He struck the landscape retaining wall about 9 feet below, then fell another 4 feet to the ground.
Injury Type : Temporary loss of consciousness; head, neck, and shoulder injuries
Core Activity : Manual tree falling and bucking
Location : Northwest BC
ID Number : 2008161740084
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A hand faller was falling a hemlock tree (22 inches in diameter) that was limb-tied into an adjacent cedar snag (42 inches in diameter). As the faller finished the back cut in the hemlock, the hemlock began to move forward. A hidden piece of the cedar snag weighing 10-12 pounds fell from a height of 37 feet and struck the faller.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebrae
Core Activity : Painting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560175
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was on an extension ladder, painting the interior of a residence. The ladder fell, and the worker fell with it, landing on a side table about 8 feet below.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450190
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A safety officer had directed workers to stay clear of a temporary concrete block, earthen wall area. A professional engineer arrived to write up safe work procedures. As he was writing, the wall structure collapsed.
Injury Type : Broken wrist
Core Activity : Plastering
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145130183
Date of Incident : 2008-May

Two workers on a scaffold fell about 8 feet when the scaffold plank broke. The investigation found signs that the plank had likely been cracked before this incident.
Injury Type : Flash burns, electric shock
Core Activity : Electrical work
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450176
Date of Incident : 2008-May

During renovations to a retail store, a worker was cutting new circuits into a 208/120-volt panel. The panel was left energized to allow other circuits in the store to remain active. The worker contacted the energized portions of the panel with a screwdriver.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Retail distribution
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008154900052
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A forklift was trying to remove the top layer of a double-stacked pallet when the backrest of the forklift caught on the underside of the crossbeam above. This dislodged the crossbeam from the uprights of the racking, causing the boxes on the top rack to fall.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Auto service and repair
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008161980225
Date of Incident : 2008-May

Two workers were trying to diagnose a malfunction with an above-ground scissor-type automotive lift (the ramps were not level). A vehicle had been parked on the lift in an attempt to equalize the hydraulics. The two workers were standing beneath the lift when one side of it inadvertently lowered. They escaped from under the lift without injury.
Injury Type : Bruised hand
Core Activity : Foam product manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008113830125
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was trying to clear a sheet of foam that was jammed in the rollers of a grinder. When the jam cleared, one hand was caught between the feeders.
Injury Type : Amputation of 2 fingertips
Core Activity : Longline fishing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008139050044
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A vessel master was hauling in longline gear when a bent snap caught his glove and pulled his hand through a roller. The taut groundline trapped two fingers between the line and the roller bed.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Logging road construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008158930095
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A driller-blaster was returning from a post-blast inspection when he was struck and pinned against the tracks of an excavator by a large log that rolled off the steep cutbank above.
Injury Type : Concussion
Core Activity : Highrise concrete forming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560150
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was found unconscious after falling against the perimeter guardrail system on the 26th floor of a highrise building under construction. The worker had tripped on a piece of rebar; his head hit the guardrail, which prevented a fall to ground level.
Injury Type : Broken arm, lacerations
Core Activity : Housekeeping
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156160148
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was showing another worker how to operate an electric golf cart used for carrying housekeeping supplies. The worker sitting at the controls of the cart inadvertently stepped on the throttle, causing the worker outside the cart to be dragged a short distance and pinned between the cart and a door.
Injury Type : Contusions and swelling
Core Activity : Integrated forest management
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008108320014
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A faller was trying to overcome a falling difficulty when he was struck by a hung-up hemlock (9 inches in diameter).
Injury Type : Severe entrance and exit burns
Core Activity : Electrical utility
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450174
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker inadvertently touched 7.2-kV equipment while removing ground straps from an electrical cabinet.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Gas bar and convenience store
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008143950170
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A person entered a convenience store with a hood and a shirt covering their face. The person threatened the worker at the cash register with a knife. The attempted robbery was interrupted by another worker, who entered the store from the attached, closed restaurant. The would-be robber fled the store.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Road construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560147
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was run over by a dump truck that was being guided back by a spotter.
See a hazard alert based on this incident:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=35217
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008117640231
Date of Incident : 2008-May

Fire destroyed the cab and engine compartment of a loaded logging truck before the local fire department extinguished the fire. It is believed that the fire started when a small leak caused a raw fuel mist to be sprayed onto the exhaust or the turbo.
Injury Type : Bruised knee
Core Activity : Resource road layout
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008160530135
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker encountered a grizzly bear while establishing a proposed resource road. When the bear came within arm's length, the worker ran downhill. The bear followed and when the worker tripped, the bear again came close. The worker yelled and screamed until the bear lost interest and moved on. The worker did not have the company-issued bear spray with him.
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Loading a delivery truck
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155700110
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was moving two flat trucks out of a warehouse. To get to the doorway, he had to pass through an area where full pallets of consumer goods were being unloaded from a delivery truck. As a forklift shoved full pallets towards the doorway, the pallets pushed one of the flat trucks. The worker's leg was caught between the flat truck and a vertical concrete-filled pipe used as a vehicle barrier.
Injury Type : Fatal (1 worker); minor injuries (4 workers)
Core Activity : Tree planting
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008091010004
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A crew cab went out of control on a gravel road. The vehicle slid into the ditch and rolled, ejecting one worker. The ejected worker was pinned under the vehicle and died. Four other workers, including one young worker, sustained minor injuries.
Injury Type : Fatal (3 workers, 1 non-worker)
Core Activity : Helicopter operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008104070059
Date of Incident : 2008-May

Two utilities workers were in a helicopter making visual checks of power lines when the helicopter's engine failed. The helicopter crashed in a residential area. The pilot, the two utilities workers, and a civilian on the ground all died.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Relocation of gas utility line
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008159010099
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A backhoe ruptured a gas line during line relocation. The line had been located and exposed by hand, but a turn in the position of the line had not been noticed.
Injury Type : Burns
Core Activity : Wood product manufacture
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008159010100
Date of Incident : 2008-May

During the repair of a mobile crane at a log infeed pond, the hydraulic system was inadvertently activated. The boom lifted, striking a thermal oil pipe in the ceiling of the facility. Hot oil sprayed over the area, producing heavy smoke and burning one worker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Bridge construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700081
Date of Incident : 2008-May

The boom of a 220-ton crawler crane contacted the jib of a self-erecting tower crane.
Injury Type : Fractured arm, dislocated elbow, bruising
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700080
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker stepped onto an unsecured floor opening cover and fell 10 feet to the Q-deck below.
See a hazard alert about a similar accident in which a young worker was seriously injured:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?reportid=34669
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Residential construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157410108
Date of Incident : 2008-May

The cable of a self-erecting tower crane contacted a 14.4-kV overhead power line.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries to leg, back
Core Activity : Fish farming
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008157490126
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was rescued from the water after the 8-metre boat he was in capsized.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries, bruising
Core Activity : Logging
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161740075
Date of Incident : 2008-May

The operator of a grapple yarder was attempting to level it on the road using logs under the tracks. As the yarder was climbing onto the logs, it lost balance and tipped over.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970181
Date of Incident : 2008-May

An excavator severed a 2-inch gas line from the main gas line. Although the contractor had the correct locates, the gas company had sent a map for a different site.
Injury Type : Amputated finger
Core Activity : Wood trimming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158910081
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A young worker was trimming wood waste material. The worker's finger contacted the energized blade of a bench-mounted mitre saw.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Building demolition
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008137102469
Date of Incident : 2008-May

As an excavator demolished the upper floor of a building, it ruptured a natural gas line. The demolition contractor understood that the natural gas line to the building had been disconnected and blocked, but the line was still active.
Injury Type : Swelling of face and head
Core Activity : Correctional institution
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008120030142
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was punched and kicked by an inmate. Law officers are investigating.
Injury Type : Concussion, abrasions, lacerations
Core Activity : Traffic control
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008143950155
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A traffic control person (a young worker) was struck by a motor vehicle. The vehicle had already obeyed the order to stop when it was struck from behind by a vehicle that had not noticed the road construction signs.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008113820136
Date of Incident : 2008-May

An articulated rock truck backed over an embankment and travelled downslope about 30 feet. The operator was not injured.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Site surface preparation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970182
Date of Incident : 2008-May

As a dump truck unloaded gravel above a residential area, it dislodged a large boulder (150-200 pounds). The boulder rolled about 150 yards downslope towards a person working on a deck in the backyard. The rock rolled onto the deck and broke the glass patio door.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Blasting for road construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550098
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A nighttime blasting operation knocked over a power pole along with attached high-voltage power lines and telecommunications lines.
Injury Type : Tuberculosis
Core Activity : Community health care
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009150180030
Date of Incident : 2008-May

In 2008, an increase in tuberculosis (TB) cases occurred in the Central Okanagan. A worker at an acute care facility has tested positive for TB, and the source of exposure is being investigated.
Injury Type : Tuberculosis
Core Activity : Community health care
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009150180033
Date of Incident : 2008-May

Since May 2008, tuberculosis (TB) cases have increased in the Central Okanagan. The risk level for an acute care facility was raised from low to moderate. One worker at this location has converted positive for tuberculosis.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : Gutter cleaning
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008118870342
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was at the edge of a steep roof (slope of 6:12) cleaning gutters. As he was repositioning himself, he fell to grade. The worker was not using any fall protection equipment.
Injury Type : Asbestos exposure
Core Activity : Building demolition
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008137102472
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A building was being demolished before construction of a new commercial building. An assessment had identified numerous materials and locations containing asbestos, which were required to be safely dealt with before demolition began. The report was ignored, so the demolition exposed workers and the public to the extreme hazards of asbestos.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Wholesale distribution
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008113830115
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A 7-pound metal object crashed through the roof of a warehouse. It damaged a sprinkler pipe as well as the roof, but missed the people working 15 feet away. The object was later identified as a machine part from a neighbouring employer (200 yards away).
Injury Type : Puncture wound to rib cage
Core Activity : Modular home manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008093690112
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A wall panel was lying (horizontal) on a table as a worker used a nail gun to attach a header to it. The gun had contacted enough of the top plate to de-activate the nail gun safety and allow the gun to fire; however, the gun was not in the correct nailing position. When the gun was activated, the discharged nail skimmed off the edge of the wood and shot across the table, striking another worker.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Shoulder, leg, and back injuries
Core Activity : Dismantling mobile crawler crane
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155400152
Date of Incident : 2008-May

As a mobile crawler crane was being dismantled, some welds on a homemade adapter failed. Side-loading had occurred when two unsecured pins (no cotter pins) backed off, allowing the plates on the adapter to spread. The steel "bridle" fell onto the house of the crane, deflected to the back of the crane, then fell to the ground. One worker became entangled in the cable and was pulled down onto the detached 15-ton counterweight and then to the ground about 12 feet below.
Injury Type : Fractured ankle
Core Activity : Painting
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008118870340
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A young worker was on an unsecured ladder, painting. When the ladder inadvertently shifted, the worker fell to grade (about 15 feet).
Injury Type : Electric shock
Core Activity : Window installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145130175
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A heavily loaded pallet jack ran over and damaged an extension cord. The cord shorted back to the 208-volt temporary electrical supply panel it was plugged into. When a worker installing windows contacted the panel, he received an electric shock.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Integrated forestry management
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008113820129
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A mechanical feller buncher was falling a cedar 100 feet tall (3 feet in diameter). The feller buncher lost control of the tree, which then fell backwards and landed on the engine compartment. The operator was not injured.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Metal smelting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155700103
Date of Incident : 2008-May

Workers were attempting to remove a 387-pound crucible using an electric jib hoist with a lifting capacity of 1000 kilograms. As the lift began, the hook suspension system failed and the hoist fell about 10 feet, landing on the crucible.
Injury Type : Puncture wounds, torn muscles
Core Activity : Electric utilities site inspection
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161740071
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A lone worker was surveying near a river when he was attacked by a grizzly bear.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Blasting
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970172
Date of Incident : 2008-May

Fly rock from a blast damaged several nearby homes.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Logging road construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008113820128
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A rubber-tired excavator caught fire during construction of a forest service road. The operator was unable to suppress the fire and the machine was completely destroyed.
Injury Type : Bruising to arm, back
Core Activity : Chip hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156160110
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was on top of a load of chips, moving from the truck box to the trailer, when he lost his balance and fell to the ground (13 feet). The worker was wearing a full-body harness and was connected to a self-retracting lifeline but the retractable lifeline failed.
Injury Type : Facial laceration
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161770235
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was nailing floor joist cross-bracing with a pneumatic nail gun. A nail discharged from the gun deflected back and struck the worker's face.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?reportid=34835
Injury Type : Burn injuries
Core Activity : Metal fabrication
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147230047
Date of Incident : 2008-May

A worker was preparing to weld the outside wall of a confined space. He set up a propane torch in the confined space to pre-heat the inside surface of the wall. He left for a short time. By the time he returned, the torch had flamed out but propane gas was still flowing from the torch. The worker leaned inside the confined space to re-ignite the torch. The escaped gas ignited and exploded.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : Installing weather stripping
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008112850126
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A young worker was inside an apartment, installing weather stripping on its main door. When the worker closed the door, it became stuck and could not be opened. The worker exited the suite by climbing from the balcony down to the balcony of the suite below. The worker lost his grip and fell to the concrete patio below (about 25 feet).
Injury Type : Lacerations, contusions
Core Activity : Construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008112850125
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker fell about 10 feet (to grade) when the baker's scaffold he was on tipped over.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Pressure washing exterior of building
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117080121
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

Two workers were setting up a portable powered swing stage in preparation for power washing the exterior of a building. Parapet clamps were attached to the concrete walls at roof level, and wire rope suspension lines were attached to the climbing motors on both ends of the stage at grade level. The end of the stage closest to the building was hoisted approximately 4 feet above grade. As the other end of the stage was being hoisted, the wire rope suspension line contacted an energized overhead high-voltage power line.
See a slide show about a worker who died as a result of a power line contact during exterior building work:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/publications/multimedia/slideshows.asp?ReportID=34909
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injury
Core Activity : Steep-slope roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155070149
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker fell about 25 feet from the unguarded edge of a roof.
Injury Type : Sore leg
Core Activity : Upgrade of water treatment plant
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157270189
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was climbing rebar to access his work location. He slipped and fell about 12 feet to grade.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Wildlife conservation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154970276
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

Two conservation officers were conducting an angler/hunter patrol when they heard four high-powered rifle shots fired from across the lake. The rifle shots hit a tree 20-30 feet from where the compliance inspection was being done.
Injury Type : Skull fracture, ear injury
Core Activity : Food processing plant
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008152480117
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

An ATV was descending from a loading dock when it slid sideways off a ramp, injuring the operator (a young worker).
Injury Type : Lower back injury
Core Activity : Unloading gravel from a barge with a conveyor
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161480076
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was using a 24-foot extension ladder to access a belt conveyor. The worker fell to grade from an undetermined height.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Chemical carrier hauling formaldehyde
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008157580143
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A chemical tanker was hauling formaldehyde when one of its front tires failed. The tanker crashed, releasing about 8000 litres of formaldehyde onto the highway and meridian.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries to legs
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008108320012
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A loaded log transporter travelling on a highway came upon the scene of a recent traffic accident. To stop the transporter and miss the wreckage, the driver had to crash the log transporter into cement barriers beside the road. Because the transporter remained upright and its load remained intact, only the operator was injured.
The earlier accident had involved two semi-trailers; two non-workers were seriously injured.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Delivering drywall to private residence
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157600081
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A telescopic forklift was moving a load of drywall on a sloped driveway. The forklift flopped onto its right side, but the driver was not injured.
See a series of safety tips for forklift operation:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/StartSafe-Forklifts.asp
Injury Type : Fractured facial bone, bruising
Core Activity : Motor vehicle inspection and repair
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157570108
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A vehicle's airbag over-extension chain broke, causing the pressurized air (140 psi) to rapidly inflate the suspension airbags. The frame of the booster axle struck a worker.
Injury Type : Head injury
Core Activity : Window installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008110210066
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

On a construction site, a glass panel was being raised above the workers on the 2nd floor. The panel hoist fell off the 3rd floor, causing the panel to fall and strike the head of one worker. The worker was wearing a hard hat, which broke on impact.
Injury Type : Fractured foot
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970164
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A framer was on a 9-foot interior wall, installing roof trusses. Four unsecured trusses blew over and struck his foot.
Injury Type : Broken bones, punctured lung
Core Activity : Concrete forming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008117080123
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

An exterior wall panel of a multiple-use formwork system was being disassembled so it could be lifted by a tower crane. When all the wing nuts were off the unsecured panel bolts (form ties), the 1,400-pound panel fell onto a worker.
Injury Type : Minor chemical/thermal burns to face
Core Activity : Ore processing
Location : BC
ID Number : 2008093690107
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

The pump line on a pressure oxidation circuit ruptured, and the reverse-flow check valve on the autoclave malfunctioned. A worker was sprayed with a hot slurry of acidic material.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Ship refit
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008118870315
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

As a result of tidal conditions and improper setup procedures, a gangway used to access a vessel collapsed.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Crane operation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008150180072
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A 30-ton truck-mounted crane tipped over while attempting to place a bundle of rebar (weighing 1,900 pounds) on a suspended slab deck form.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Fence installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157520116
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A mini-excavator was digging to remove an old concrete fence post and pad when it contacted an underground gas line.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Concrete highrise construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008145130159
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

During the daily inspection of a 220-foot-high tower crane, it was noted that three spring clips had been removed from the pins holding the tieback supports of the crane. One of these pins had started to work loose and was within an inch of becoming dislodged. The removal of the clips is being investigated by police.
Injury Type : Soft-tissue injuries to upper body, lower back
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008158930074
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was on a self-loading logging truck trying to change a hydraulic hose located directly behind the operator's seat when he fell 11 feet to grade.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Formwork
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158880199
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

During construction of a 3-storey building, a crane was left to slew (weathervane) at the end of a shift. The crane block was about 60 feet out on the jib and 20 feet down. A 20-foot set of rigging chains had been left hanging from the block. The crane slewed and the rigging contacted a 12-kV power line across the road from the site.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008097990097
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

As concrete was being placed, a section of falsework (about 10 feet by 15 feet) dropped because of a lack of shoring beneath it.
Injury Type : Fractured leg bone
Core Activity : Ready-mix concrete manufacture and delivery
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008116120090
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A forklift was unloading a pallet from a flatbed trailer. As it backed away from the trailer, it entered a hollow in the ground and tipped over onto its side.
Injury Type : Crush injuries to hand
Core Activity : Metal recovery
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008138190103
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was dismantling the apex of a grapple yarder that was being salvaged. A section of it fell over onto his hand.
Injury Type : Shoulder injury
Core Activity : Forming and framing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008124710185
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A young worker was stripping off concrete formwork. As he stepped over a footing, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Injury Type : Burns to upper body
Core Activity : Secondary school
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008049800839
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

An automotive shop teacher was using the parts washer when the petroleum-based cleaning solvent burst into flames. Later examination revealed that the parts washer was designed to be used only with water-based solvents. It is likely that the unit's immersion heater caused the solvent to ignite.
See a hazard alert based on this incident:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=35276
Injury Type : Fractured leg bone
Core Activity : Wood products mill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156160104
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker descending a set of stairs turned to assess noise from the chipper, then turned back to continue descending. The worker thought that the next step was the floor, but it was the step above the floor. The worker pitched forward and fell.
Injury Type : Deep laceration to leg
Core Activity : Building formwork
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950121
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A young worker was cutting plywood using a hand-held electric circular saw. As the worker prepared to make a cut, the rotating saw blade contacted his leg.
Injury Type : Concussion, fractured arms
Core Activity : Steep-slope roofing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970162
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A young worker was carrying a full sheet of 7/16-inch plywood across a steep cedar shake roof in windy conditions. The roof was about 40 feet long. The worker stepped on a 2x4, which broke free. The worker fell 38 feet to the cement sidewalk. The plywood fell from the roof and struck the worker's head. The worker had not received specific training and was not tied off to his lifeline.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Ferry operation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154970238
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A loaded ferry had been cleared for departure when the apron of the lower loading ramp contacted the underside of the upper car deck. The force of this contact caused the ramp's hydraulic lifting ram to shear off at the hydraulic pedestal. A berth at the ferry terminal had to be closed until the damage was repaired and the repairs were certified by professional engineers.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Taxi service
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008105210046
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A private vehicle ran a stop sign and struck the driver side of a taxi cab.
Injury Type : Spinal cord injury, scrapes and bruising
Core Activity : Fireproofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008113830102
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was installing a firewall in the attic of a shop when he fell through the wooden soffit to the concrete below (about 18 feet).
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Site servicing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450144
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

Workers were excavating to install a 12-inch sewer pipe. They contacted a 4-inch duct bank marked with tape to indicate an electrical hazard. The duct contained a live 14.4-kV conductor. Workers dug by hand past the tape, lifted the live conduit, and blocked it up using wood scraps. The correct procedure is to contact the utility owner when electrical hazard tape is exposed.
Injury Type : Smoke inhalation (4 workers, 1 non-worker)
Core Activity : Public school
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008138190092
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A fire broke out in a public school during school hours. Four workers and one student were affected by smoke.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Falling and bucking
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008157620087
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A faller was cutting away debris (fir) around the base of a small hemlock that he was about to fall. He had completed his final cut when previously bucked cedar/hemlock trees with the rootwad system attached slid down the steep hillside. He was pinned against the standing hemlock tree and sustained fatal injuries.
Read WorkSafeBC's investigation report for a similar fatal incident in 2005:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/AccidentInvestigations/IR-PrimaryResources.asp?ReportID=34466
Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Steep-slope roofing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008147050122
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A young worker was removing old shingles from the roof edge of a 3-storey apartment building. He slipped and fell to the ground (about 25 feet).
Injury Type : Fractured pelvis
Core Activity : Flooring sales and installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008097990099
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

The operator of a stand-on lift truck was injured when it backed into storage shelving.
Injury Type : Laceration and contusion to head, bruised back
Core Activity : Window cleaning
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155730070
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker had been cleaning the upper-level windows of a house. As he exited the roof area, he slipped from the ladder and fell about 8 feet to the patio slab.
Injury Type : Broken arm
Core Activity : Roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008129160349
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was stepping from a roof onto a ladder. He missed the rung and fell approximately 10 feet to the ground.
Injury Type : Severe lacerations to 3 fingers
Core Activity : Kitchen cabinet manufacture
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008116120082
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was cutting a piece of wood with a table saw when the wood kicked back. The worker's hand was pulled into the blade.
Injury Type : Deep laceration to hand
Core Activity : Shingle machine operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008140330022
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A sawyer working at a shingle machine lost his footing and reached out to steady himself. His hand landed on the clipper saw board, which depressed, allowing the energized clipper saw to contact his hand.
Injury Type : Fractured arm bones, head abrasion
Core Activity : Steep-slope roofing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970153
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A young worker on a residential 8:12 pitch roof was re-connecting to his lifeline when he stepped on the lifeline and fell 18-20 feet to the ground.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Assay laboratory
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008157580113
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

Mineral analysis reactions using various acids were being conducted in fume hoods in an assay laboratory. During a shift change (when no workers were in the lab), a brief power failure shut down the ventilation, and acid fumes were released. The fume hoods did not have failure warning devices, and the ventilation fans had to be manually restarted. A worker later entered the lab, detected acid odour, and called emergency services.
Injury Type : Heavy bruising
Core Activity : Steel hoisting and placement operations
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008154930133
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

During steel erection work, a large beam was being hoisted into position. The beam slipped and fell, then collided with a manlift basket. The worker in the basket exited to avoid being hit by the beam. The worker was supported by fall protection equipment and was injured when it caused him to swing back against the structure.
Injury Type : Injuries to chest, back, and leg
Core Activity : Roofing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240083
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A roofer (a young worker) was coming down from a roof on an extension ladder. He reached to one side to trim a shingle with a utility knife, lost his balance, and fell approximately 22 feet to the ground.
Injury Type : Cuts and bruises to leg (1 worker); back strain (1 worker)
Core Activity : Appliance delivery
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008115520068
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

Two workers were hauling a stacked washer/dryer unit down a set of stairs when they lost control of the unit. It struck and pinned the worker on the lower stair. The worker on the upper stair (a young worker) was injured trying to lift the unit off the lower worker.
Injury Type : Multiple puncture wounds
Core Activity : Public education
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008158930067
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

Shortly after school was dismissed, a teacher was pulled to the ground and bitten by three dogs in the schoolyard.
Injury Type : Facial fractures and lacerations
Core Activity : Window installation in highrise tower
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950096
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was on a boom-supported work platform, preparing window openings on the third floor of a new residential highrise building. Another worker was installing exterior cladding components from a suspended work platform positioned above the first worker. Several metal filler plates (about 8x2 inches, 1/4 inch thick) fell and struck the first worker.
Injury Type : Fractured ankle
Core Activity : Retail service
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155700083
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A new/young worker was transporting a 1,000-pound load using a manually operated pallet jack. He was walking it backwards down a loading ramp with a slope of 9 percent when the pallet jack accelerated and struck him.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950110
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

During sewer pipeline installation, an excavator's bucket contacted and ruptured a 42-mm natural gas line. A school and homes in the immediate area were evacuated.
Injury Type : Concussion, head laceration
Core Activity : Herring seine fishing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008139050042
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A seine fishing vessel was engaged in a herring spawn on kelp fishery. The "hairpin" (a piece of fishing gear used to hold the purse seine rings, weighing about 50 pounds) slipped from the purse rings. It struck a worker on the head.
Injury Type : Crush injuries to hands
Core Activity : Metal product fabrication
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161480069
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was applying a rubber stripper around a die on a 125-ton punch press when the punch cycled, catching the worker's hands. The punch press had not been locked out.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008138190087
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

An excavator struck a natural gas line. The worksite and surrounding buildings were evacuated.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Road construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550070
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A lowbed truck was transporting a 50-ton rough-terrain mobile crane in a highway construction zone. The top of the crane's stowed boom contacted a flagged telecommunications line that diagonally crossed the highway. On one side of the road, the line was attached to a temporary pole supported by a new pole. The contact between the line and the boom caused the temporary pole to fail, and the telecommunications lines fell onto the roadway.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Beer and wine store
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008152480104
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A beer and wine store was robbed by a person brandishing a knife.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Bridge construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560124
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A prefabricated rebar cage for a bridge pier column was pulled over onto the crane gantry when the crane backed into and broke the temporary supporting guide wires.
Injury Type : Extensive bruising
Core Activity : Tree services
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161750066
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was performing spiral pruning (removing 30 to 70 percent of the branches in tree's crown) in a 100-foot-tall Douglas fir tree. The worker fell to the ground from a height of 51 feet.
Injury Type : Internal injuries
Core Activity : Heavy equipment, machinery, or parts manufacture or installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008128230134
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was struck by a piece of round stock (42 inches long, 1 1/8 inches in diameter) when it was thrown by the lathe he was operating.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating site for future foundation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161760239
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

An excavator digging for a foundation dropped a bucket of soil onto a pile that contained a 1-metre boulder. The dirt dislodged the boulder, which then rolled 100 metres down a slope and came to rest against a car.
Injury Type : Head and neck injury
Core Activity : Concrete formwork
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700067
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was on a work platform chipping a concrete column when he fell to the ground (6 feet).
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Stripping formwork
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158880179
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was stripping formwork when he stepped into a vent shaft blockout in a poured slab. A stripping crew had removed the shoring from below the blockout, leaving only the plywood. The plywood gave way and the worker fell about 8 feet to the slab below.
Injury Type : Fatal (non-worker)
Core Activity : Disposal
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008117640162
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A disposal truck and a private motor vehicle were involved in a minor accident. The drivers exited their vehicles to talk to one another. The truck driver got back into the truck to move it off the travelled portion of the road. As the truck was being repositioned, it fatally struck the driver of the private vehicle.
Injury Type : Lacerated, fractured finger
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008131490109
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

Workers were straightening and adjusting the vertical wood splitter on a portable sawmill. A worker's finger contacted a rotating circular saw.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Excavating
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161950106
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

An excavator was backfilling around a pre-cast concrete storm drain on a residential property. Its bucket contacted and ruptured a 2-inch natural gas line.
Injury Type : Fractured skull, ribs; internal injury
Core Activity : Marine anchor installation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161290054
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A concrete block used as an anchor base for marine vessels was being transferred from the beach onto the lowered apron of a landing-craft vessel. The block was 2 x 2 x 2.5 feet. A vessel-specific, job-constructed stiff-leg derrick crane with a hydraulic winch was being used to drag the block onboard. The stern and mid-ship starboard guy anchors on the crane failed, causing the base of the mast to shear. The boom and rigging struck the operator, knocking him overboard and pinning him in shallow water until he was rescued.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Gas bar
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980048
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A person with a knife robbed a convenience store and gas station.
Injury Type : Bruised hip
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008158930047
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker was bucking a cedar log that had dislodged during transport and was suspended in the cinches of a logging truck. The log was about 38 feet long and 1.5 feet in diameter, and weighed about 2,400 pounds. When the worker finished the bucking cut, one section of the log swung under the load and pinned the worker against the reach of the logging truck.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Blasting for road construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550066
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

Fly rock resulted from a blast that misfired.
Injury Type : Crushing injuries to leg
Core Activity : Recycling
Location : BC
ID Number : 2008108440044
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A young worker was trying to clear a jam in a horizontal baler (compactor) when his leg got caught.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Concrete formwork
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008115132130
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

The jib of a tower crane contacted the hoist line of a second tower crane.
Injury Type : Violence in the workplace
Core Activity : Gas station and convenience store
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008155980049
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A person armed with a handgun robbed a convenience store and gas station.
Injury Type : Collapsed lung
Core Activity : Plumbing, heating, and ventilation installation
Location : BC
ID Number : 2008122700054
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

Two workers were on a work platform on a construction site when one of the workers (a young worker) bumped into the second worker, knocking him off balance. The second worker swung his arm to stop himself from falling, and the nail gun he was using discharged into the young worker.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Mechanical tree falling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161750058
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

An excavator equipped with a power clam was falling a cedar tree about 2 feet in diameter and 100 feet high. The excavator lost control of the tree, which then fell into the 25-kV overhead power lines.
Injury Type : Fractured ribs (1 worker); bruising (1 worker)
Core Activity : Road maintenance
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008144250113
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

Workers were trying to unload culverts from a tractor-trailer when the culverts began to roll. They knocked one worker off the load of culverts and down off the trailer, then struck a second worker.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008156240065
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A loaded logging truck was descending a hill on a straight section of road when it left the roadway and landed on the passenger side against a bank. The driver was not injured.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Bridge viaduct construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560114
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A crawler crane backed into construction equipment, causing extensive damage.
Injury Type : Non-injury
Core Activity : Supermarket
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008144250111
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

An individual phoned to say that a bomb had been placed in a store. The store was evacuated and law enforcement officials searched the premises, but no explosive device was found.
Injury Type : Head injury
Core Activity : Integrated logging
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008034450116
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A loaded log transporter (jeep with a wagon) was negotiating a 6 percent downhill curve on a forest service road. The truck rolled at the midpoint of the 90-degree curve.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Tunnel boring
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008114550065
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A zoom-boom forklift fell onto its side while being repositioned. The boom was elevated at approximately 62 degrees, and the telescopic boom section was extended to approximately 4 metres, with a hose attached to the mast.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Residential forming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008137102438
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

During excavation work, an old municipal wooden stave storm line (still in use) was ruptured. Over the course of a week, the water escaping at the ruptured area eroded the earth behind a shotcrete wall, causing part of it (50 feet long, 7 feet high) to fail.
Injury Type : Back injury
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008156730166
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

Two workers were standing on the top plate of an exterior wall, installing fascia board on a new, detached garage. One of them (a young worker) fell 8.5 feet to grade, landing partly on a stack of 6 sheets of plywood and partly on gravel.
Injury Type : Fractured foot bone
Core Activity : Excavation and landscaping
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008161770166
Date of Incident : 2008-Apr

A worker walked behind a rubber-tracked skid-steer loader that was reversing. The worker tripped and fell, and the loader's track travelled up the worker's leg. An excavator operator saw what was happening and alerted the loader operator to stop. The loader operator then drove the loader forward off the worker's leg.
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.


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