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Home › Publications › Health & safety information › Young Worker

This update contains details from selected Notice of Incident (NI) reports received by WorkSafeBC. It is intended to alert employers and workers to the types of incidents occurring in their industry.

This information may help you prevent similar accidents in your workplace.

THE NI INFORMATION IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

Young Worker - Incident Summaries

Young workers include workers aged 15 through 24.

2008 - (updated May 13, 2008)

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 : 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 : Fractured leg

Core Activity : Heavy equipment parts installation
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008154850049
Date of Incident : 2008-Mar

A trash compactor plate on a garbage truck had become stuck. Two workers tried unsuccessfully to free it. After one worker left the area, the other worker (a young worker) noticed that the compactor plate had come free and was starting to fall. The young worker tried to get clear, but was struck by the falling plate, which weighed about 1,000 pounds.

Injury Type : Multiple broken bones, head contusion

Core Activity : Installing exterior fibre insulation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008161290044
Date of Incident : 2008-Mar

A young worker on a scaffold fell about 27 feet (8 metres) to the concrete slab below, striking two scaffold planks about halfway down. The scaffold had both guardrails and mid-rails.

Injury Type : Burns (2 workers)

Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : BC
ID Number : 2008157570084
Date of Incident : 2008-Mar

Two young workers were burned when one of them tripped while carrying an open container of hot oil.

Injury Type : Facial laceration

Core Activity : Land clearing and excavation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970131
Date of Incident : 2008-Feb

A young worker was using a 20-pound cut-off saw to cut a 6-inch sewer pipe. As the cut was almost complete, the pipe broke and pinched the blade. The saw kicked back and the blade lacerated the young worker's face.

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 : Amputated fingertip
Core Activity : Auto service and repair
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147230034
Date of Incident : 2008-Mar

Three workers were manually lowering a car transmission unit weighing approximately 100 pounds from a stand to floor level. One of the workers (a young worker) had his hand under the unit and it was pinned against the concrete floor. The oil pan had been removed from the unit, leaving a sharp edge that injured the worker's finger.

Injury Type : Head and back pain
Core Activity : Mixing soil for composting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008147230030
Date of Incident : 2008-Mar

A front-end loader had emptied its bucket on a dump pile. It was backing away with the bucket still elevated when one front wheel went over the edge of unbermed roadway. The loader rolled over, injuring the operator (a young worker).

Injury Type : Crushing injuries
Core Activity : Oilfield trucking
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008153370075
Date of Incident : 2008-Mar

An oilfield bed truck was towing a service rig pumper truck up a steep section of petroleum development road in slippery winter road conditions. However, the bed truck itself lost traction, and a young worker went to unhook the winch line connecting the two trucks. While the worker was between the trucks, the bed truck slid backwards, pinning the worker between the back of the bed truck and the front of the pumper truck.

Injury Type : Burns
Core Activity : Oil or gas production
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008144250097
Date of Incident : 2008-Mar

A young worker was trying to light the pilot light of a propane furnace in a trailer recently delivered to the oil and gas well drilling site. The building exploded with the worker inside the building.

Injury Type : Chemical burns
Core Activity : Brewery
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008146890204
Date of Incident : 2008-Mar

A young worker was removing the circulating apparatus from a fermentation tank that had been rinsed with a caustic solution. The caustic agent had been mixed with hot water to a concentration of about 2 percent. Some of the solution splashed onto the worker, causing burns.

Injury Type : Facial injuries
Core Activity : Dryland sort
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008136960111
Date of Incident : 2008-Mar

A can of paint exploded in a debris fire. A young worker sustained facial injuries.

Injury Type : Fractured and lacerated arm
Core Activity : Recycling depot
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008110750045
Date of Incident : 2008-Feb

A young worker was instructed to use a 55-ton power press to bend a "grouser bar" to fit a worn track pad for a tracked front-end loader. The bar broke and was ejected, hitting the worker. The safeguards were not in place on the press and the manufacturer's instructions were not being followed.

Injury Type : Back and shoulder pain, head laceration
Core Activity : Project layout
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008154970157
Date of Incident : 2008-Mar

A young worker was walking on an elevated walkway between 2 buildings (gap of 4 feet) when the planks gave way. The worker fell 19.5 feet to grade. The worker may have bounced off the cross braces of an erected scaffold, lessening the impact of the fall.

Injury Type : Crush injuries to foot and ankle
Core Activity : Warehouse operation
Location : BC
ID Number : 2008157410040
Date of Incident : 2008-Feb

A new and young worker was operating a stand-up counter-balanced lift truck in a warehouse. As the lift truck backed up, one of the worker's feet was pinned between the lift truck's platform and a steel pillar.

Injury Type : Hand abrasion, heart palpitations
Core Activity : Cleaning and maintenance of aircraft
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008146170024
Date of Incident : 2008-Feb

A young worker was vacuuming inside a docked float plane. As he exited the aircraft, he lost his footing and fell into the water still holding the vacuum cleaner, which was plugged into the main electrical socket on the dock. The socket was not equipped with a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI).

Injury Type : Lacerations, bleeding from ears
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : BC
ID Number : 2008159110027
Date of Incident : 2008-Feb

A young worker was installing the trim board on the joist ends of a sundeck 4 metres (13 feet) above grade. The worker was wearing a fall arrest harness with a 3-foot shock-absorbing lanyard attached to a rope grab on an anchored lifeline. The worker fell over the edge of the sundeck and hit the ground. The investigation determined that the rope grab was not properly positioned, allowing the worker to hit the ground.

Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Real estate sales
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2008120030036
Date of Incident : 2008-Feb

A real estate agent (an independent operator) was killed at a property that was for sale. Police are investigating the killing of this young worker.

Injury Type : Bruising to back, ribs
Core Activity : Construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970053
Date of Incident : 2008-Jan

A young worker was on a ladder, installing tar paper on a wall. The ladder slipped out and the worker fell about 8 feet to the ground.
See a list of online resources for preventing falls in construction:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Portals/Construction/Top3AccidentTypes-Falls.asp

Injury Type : Head laceration, upper body bruising
Core Activity : Window installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158880051
Date of Incident : 2008-Jan

A young worker was steadying 2,000 pounds of glass panels as they were unloaded onto a glass cart. The panels fell towards the worker, pinning him against scaffold frames and a wall.

Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Bridge work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008115132041
Date of Incident : 2008-Jan

A mobile crane was lowering a load from a bridge deck to the platform below when it partially fell off the bridge deck. The operator (a young worker) sustained fatal crushing injuries.

Injury Type : Amputation of 3 fingers
Core Activity : Carpentry shop
Location : BC
ID Number : 2008137290026
Date of Incident : 2008-Jan

A young worker was cutting a sheet of laminate on a table saw when the blade contacted one hand. The saw did not have adequate safeguarding.
See a slide show about safeguarding for woodworking equipment:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/publications/multimedia/slideshows.asp?ReportID=34503

Injury Type : Amputated hand
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : BC
ID Number : 2008131490034
Date of Incident : 2008-Jan

A young worker was working in the area underneath the lumber stacker. His hand got caught in the in-running nip point of a transfer chain and sprocket that were not de-energized.

Injury Type : Burns to back, arm
Core Activity : Handling hot oil in restaurant
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008110210009
Date of Incident : 2008-Jan

A young worker was using a ladle to transfer hot oil from a pail to the oil filtering system. After some of the oil had been removed, the worker lifted the pail up to dump the remaining oil. The worker slipped and fell, sustaining burns from the oil.
View a shocking re-creation of a similar incident, produced by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=QmnxMBNDwws

Injury Type : Broken foot
Core Activity : Residential wood framing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008155270025
Date of Incident : 2008-Jan

A young worker slipped on a frosty roof and slid to the unguarded roof edge. He then fell 20 feet to the ground.

Injury Type : Bruised ribs
Core Activity : Window installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008157560020
Date of Incident : 2008-Jan

During window installation, two workers were in a swing-stage scaffold platform manually cranking the hand winches to descend the building. One end of the platform unhooked from the supporting winch come-along and dropped about 15 feet before landing on a sidewalk protection canopy. One worker was caught by his fall protection equipment. The other, a young worker who was adjusting his lifeline rope grab at the time of the incident, could not let go of the release mechanism to allow it to engage. His fall was not broken by his safety equipment; he landed on the sidewalk protection canopy.

Injury Type : Fractured foot
Core Activity : Steep-slope roofing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970037
Date of Incident : 2008-Jan

A young worker fell approximately 17 feet from a 7:12 pitch roof to ground level. While the injured worker was being transported for medical care, a second worker fell approximately 10 feet to ground level from the same building. The second worker was not injured.

Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Construction
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970034
Date of Incident : 2008-Jan

A young worker was on a ladder, stripping a gang form. As the worker released the last wire holding the form, the form sprang loose, knocking the worker from the ladder. The worker fell approximately 8 feet to the ground.

Injury Type : Electric shock
Core Activity : Highrise construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008158880024
Date of Incident : 2008-Jan

A tower crane was being used to dump a garbage box into a bin. The crane contacted a 7.5-kV transformer. A young worker who was in the bin rigging the load sustained an electric shock.

Injury Type : Electric shock, minor burn
Core Activity : Electrical work
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008122700009
Date of Incident : 2008-Jan

A young worker inadvertently contacted a live 277-volt junction box that had faulty wiring.

Injury Type : Broken ribs, collapsed lung
Core Activity : Ski hill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2008107970022
Date of Incident : 2008-Jan

A ski lift operator (a young worker) got caught between a ski lift chair rounding the bullwheel and a railing.

Injury Type : Crushing injuries to lower abdomen
Core Activity : Replacing tires on loader
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008159010018
Date of Incident : 2008-Jan

A tire serviceman (a young worker) was replacing tires on a 35,000-pound wheel loader when it fell off the jacks. The worker was pinned between the counterweight and the ground.

Archive of Young Worker Incidents

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