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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.

Young Worker - Incident Summaries

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


Young workers include workers aged 15 through 24.


2009 - (updated October 19, 2009)

Injury Type : Serious foot injuries  
Core Activity : Wooden box, crate, pallet, or lath manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157600178
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A round had just been cut off a log. A young worker used his foot to roll the round toward a skid-steer front-end loader fitted with a grapple bucket. As the grapple bucket closed on the round, it caught the worker's foot.
Injury Type : Crushed fingertip  
Core Activity : Smelter
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009093720199
Date of Incident : 2009-Aug

A young worker's finger got caught in the pinch point of an anode rack.
Injury Type : Bruised leg and arm  
Core Activity : Installing soffits
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009163710217
Date of Incident : 2009-Jul

A young worker was on a stepladder near the edge of the 11th floor of a high-rise building. The worker fell off the stepladder and dropped about 4 feet before his personal fall arrest system stopped his fall. The worker pulled himself back up onto the 11th floor.
Injury Type : Serious injuries  
Core Activity : Roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009165810095
Date of Incident : 2009-Jul

A young worker was seriously injured when he fell about 16 feet from a roof to the ground (concrete). No fall protection system was in place.
Injury Type : Fatal (1 worker); serious injuries (1 worker)  
Core Activity : Travelling to worksite
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009152480212
Date of Incident : 2009-Jul

Two young workers were travelling to a worksite when their vehicle rear-ended a 5-ton van making a left turn. The worker in the passenger's seat died; the worker who was driving suffered serious injuries.
Injury Type : Ankle injury  
Core Activity : Exterior house painting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009110110224
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A young worker was standing near the unguarded edge of a porch roof, repainting the fascia board on the second-storey roof above. He stepped backward and fell about 16 feet to the gravel surface below. The worker was not equipped with a personal fall protection system.
Injury Type : Partially amputated finger  
Core Activity : Planer mill
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009124120203
Date of Incident : 2009-Jul

A young worker was moving fallen 2x4 boards off a limit switch arm using a pike pole that was anchored to an outfeed chain. The pole jammed in the chain run, flung backwards, and pushed the worker's fingers against the stacker infeed chains.
Injury Type : Fatal (1 worker); serious injuries (1 worker)
Core Activity : Barge operations
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009154930270
Date of Incident : 2009-Aug

Two workers were travelling back to their employer's home base when they were involved in a single-vehicle MVA. Their vehicle rolled over, and both workers were ejected from the vehicle. One worker sustained fatal injuries. The second worker (a young worker) suffered numerous serious injuries.
Injury Type : Head laceration, possible concussion
Core Activity : Formwork
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009163710194
Date of Incident : 2009-Jul

A young worker was dismantling formwork and falsework when a piece of 3/4-inch plywood (2 feet by 5 feet) came free and struck him.
Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Electrical installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009165830053
Date of Incident : 2009-Jul

Two workers were moving an electrical cabinet (946 pounds) from a wooden pallet onto the forks of a hand pallet jack. The cabinet fell over and landed on one of the workers (a young worker).
Injury Type : Possible exposure to asbestos (8 workers, including 2 young workers)
Core Activity : Commercial renovations
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009113210089
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

Eight workers (including 2 young workers) may have been exposed to asbestos while renovating an old shopping mall. They removed double-layered drywall whose mud contained chrysotile asbestos (between 1 and 10 percent).
See a list of references about preventing exposure to asbestos:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Portals/Construction/ HazardousMaterials.asp?ReportID=34092
Injury Type : Exposure to engine exhaust gases, including carbon monoxide (2 workers, including 1 young worker)
Core Activity : Pressure washing underground parkade
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009107200090
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

Two workers (one of them a young worker) were using gas-powered pressure washers in an underground parkade. After about 3 hours of pressure washing, one worker called the supervisor and reported feeling ill. The fire department attended and measured hazardous levels of carbon monoxide (up to 500 ppm) in the parkade.
Read a hazard alert about two carpet cleaners who died from exposure to carbon monoxide:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?reportid=34979
Injury Type : Respiratory difficulties
Core Activity : Auto service and repair
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009129920155
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A young worker had serious difficulty breathing after aerosol containers of pepper spray (bear spray) were destroyed at an adjacent recycling depot.
Injury Type : Fractured skull, laceration, possible internal injuries
Core Activity : Golf course maintenance
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009129160774
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A young worker was riding a mower, rolling golf course greens that were very wet from a recent rainfall. While travelling between greens, the mower lost traction and its tires slid. The mower went over a rock face in a bunker and landed on its wheels about 3 feet below the surface of the greens.
Injury Type : Electric shock
Core Activity : Electrical installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009163710164
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

An electrical worker was moving past an open electrical panel when he brushed against a 16-gauge 600-volt wire. The worker felt a tingling in his arms as the current entered one forearm and exited the other.
Injury Type : Hand laceration
Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009155980211
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A young worker acting in self-defence sustained a small cut from a knife used by two men robbing a restaurant.
Injury Type : Potential exposure to asbestos (4 workers, including 1 young worker)
Core Activity : Demolition
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009109750075
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A fire-damaged house that had previously had asbestos-containing vermiculite insulation in the ceiling was being demolished. When workers removed a section of the drywall on the walls, they found some residual vermiculite. Work was stopped, the employer secured the scene, and an acceptable process was put into place for mitigating the asbestos hazard.
See a hazard alert about asbestos in vermiculite insulation:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34943
Injury Type : Broken ankle
Core Activity : Steep slope roofing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009160670111
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

A young worker was preparing to leave a steep roof. He detached his fall protection and accessed an improperly secured ladder. The ladder kicked out and the worker fell 8 feet.
Injury Type : Lacerations to hand
Core Activity : Wooden component manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157600119
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A young worker was trimming boards at a planer. Wanting to move one piece, he reached past the safeguard and his hand contacted the saw blade.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Farming
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009125400105
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A young worker was on a tractor, compacting silage in an open bunker silo. The tractor rolled over sideways, fatally injuring the worker. See a hazard alert about a tractor rollover: http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34855
Injury Type : Fractured skull, broken arms, lacerations
Core Activity : Re-roofing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009137102765
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A young worker attempted to stop a 4x8 sheet of plywood from sliding off the roof edge. The worker fell with the plywood, landing on the back deck about 16 feet below. No fall protection system was in place.
Injury Type : Burns
Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009165870024
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A young worker slipped on a freshly mopped floor and put both hands on the grill to break his fall.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebrae and arm
Core Activity : Insulation installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009122700078
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A worker fell from an attic to grade (12 feet).
Injury Type : Electrical burns
Core Activity : Cleanup of new building
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009158880162
Date of Incident : 2009-May

As a young worker was cleaning a high-voltage electrical cabinet in a newly constructed building, he contacted a 12-kV line.
Injury Type : Puncture wound to arm
Core Activity : Public school district
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009165570016
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

A student in a vocational program was using a pneumatic nailer to nail floor joist blocking. A nail deflected and struck the student.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Gutter installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157530122
Date of Incident : 2009-May

Two young workers were positioning a new 52-foot-long gutter on a roof when it contacted a 14.4-kV power line. One of the young workers sustained a fatal electrical injury.
See a slideshow about another incident in which a worker died while installing gutters:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/publications/multimedia/slideshows.asp?ReportID=34909
Injury Type : Fractured arm, internal injuries
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113820065
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A welder (a young worker) was struck by a shaft and pinion gear that fell on him as he worked under a crawler crane. The combined weight of the parts was estimated to be about 500 pounds.
Injury Type : Puncture wound to foot
Core Activity : Commercial construction
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009161980109
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A young worker was shot through the foot with a 3-inch nail while assisting another worker to position a wooden wall stud. The injured worker inadvertently kicked the tip of the pneumatic nail gun that was being held, trigger depressed, by the other worker.
See a bulletin about preventing injuries from nail guns:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Posters.asp?ReportID=34835
Injury Type : Strains, bruises
Core Activity : Roofing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009131490132
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A young worker was wearing a personal fall arrest system while removing snow from a sloped metal roof. The worker slipped and fell off the roof. His fall arrest system stopped his fall about 7-8 feet below the roof's edge.
Injury Type : Concussion (1 worker); crush injuries (1 worker)
Core Activity : Long-term care
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009154900018
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

During load testing of a newly installed ceiling lift, the support anchor failed. The test load fell onto a young worker. A second worker came to assist the first worker and was struck by the falling ceiling track.
Injury Type : Head laceration
Core Activity : Hotel renovations
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009093710105
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

During renovations, a worker was removing glass mirrors from a wall using suction cups. A glass mirror broke under tension, and a piece of glass struck the worker in the back of the head. The worker was wearing a face shield.
Injury Type : Lacerations to head (1 worker); minor injuries (2 workers)
Core Activity : Helicopter operations
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113820062
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A helicopter was being used in avalanche control work (avalanche bombing) when it went out of control and crashed. The pilot sustained lacerations, and the two avalanche control workers on board (one of them a young worker) sustained minor injuries.
Injury Type : Lacerated foot
Core Activity : Barge towing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009157490058
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

An 11.5-metre tug was pulling two barges when the tug sank. The two workers who abandoned ship into a life raft were rescued about 3 hours later. One of them, a young worker, sustained a cut foot.
Injury Type : Bruised leg, undetermined injuries
Core Activity : Warehouse operation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157450014
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

A worker was injured when the forklift he was operating struck a building support structure.
Injury Type : Injury to head and neck muscles, possible concussion
Core Activity : Building supplies retail
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009158920060
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A forklift was pushing a street sweeper, steered by a young worker, into a dry storage shelter. The shelter was a space between two metal storage containers, covered by an unsecured flat roof (20 feet by 19 feet) that rested on the containers. The forklift's mast dislodged the roof, which then struck the young worker's head.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Rock scaling
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009113820050
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

During scaling activities, a rock fatally struck a young worker.
Injury Type : Contusions, stiffness
Core Activity : Electrical work
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009112850045
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

As a young worker descended a set of stairs, the stairs dislodged from both the upper and lower attachment points. The worker fell 15 feet down the stairwell. The stairs had been detached in preparation for removal and replacement but no effective guarding was in place to prevent inadvertent use.
Injury Type : Fractured vertebra, bruising
Core Activity : Oil and gas well drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009158820039
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

As a 30-foot length of casing pipe (7 inches in diameter) was being lowered, the lifting clamp contacted another piece of drilling equipment. The contact caused the latch on the clamp to release and the clamp opened. The suspended pipe dropped and struck a young worker.
Injury Type : Soreness
Core Activity : Cleaning up roofing materials
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157270018
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A young worker was cleaning up debris on a roof with a pitch of 3/12. His lifeline had become slack and was lying on the roof surface. The worker was at a height of about 60 feet when he inadvertently stepped on the lifeline, slipped, and fell off the roof. Because of the slack in his lifeline, he fell about 35 feet before the fall protection system arrested his fall.
Injury Type : Fractured foot, internal injuries
Core Activity : Delivery of parts to customer
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2009120030039
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

An auto service worker (a young worker) was delivering parts to a customer when his vehicle was involved in a motor vehicle accident.
Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : Window installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009161950378
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A mobile mini-crane was being relocated. As it descended a sloped soil grade, it fell onto its side. The crane's operator (a young worker) was crushed and pinned under the machine, which weighed about 2200 kilograms.
Injury Type : Serious burns
Core Activity : Marine vessel repair/modification
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157600011
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A young worker was using an oxyacetylene torch to cut metal rings off a vessel's deck when his clothes caught fire.
Injury Type : Head injury, fractured bones
Core Activity : Drywall installation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2009034450023
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

As a young worker climbed down the end frame of a baker's scaffold, he slipped and fell to grade (about 6 feet).
Injury Type : Crush injuries to legs
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009157270007
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

A young worker was unloading scaffold bracing from a cube van. A pickup truck driven by a non-worker backed into the worker, pinning his legs against the van.
Injury Type : Back injury
Core Activity : House construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2009155070015
Date of Incident : 2008-Dec

A young worker fell from a job-built wooden scaffold to grade (about 15 feet).

Archive of Young Worker Incidents

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