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YW Accidents
2005 Incidents Involving Young Workers
A Notice of Incident (NI) report is a preliminary report of an incident that WorkSafeBC officers respond to. The NI report is based on information obtained as soon as possible after the incident but before an investigation into causes has been completed.
This information may help you prevent similar accidents in your workplace.
THE NI INFORMATION IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
Injury Type : Puncture wound
Core Activity : Formwork for highrise construction
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005115130974
Date of Incident : 2005-Dec
A young worker was climbing down from formwork when he slipped, struck another worker, and landed on a taper tie.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Marina operations
Location : BC
ID Number : 2005137290344
Date of Incident : 2005-Dec
A young worker was found drowned in the water next to a marina dock. The worker had attended an employer-sanctioned party at the workplace the evening before.
Injury Type : Scrapes and bruising to upper arm, chest
Core Activity : Unloading tractor-trailer
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005093710239
Date of Incident : 2005-Dec
A pallet jack was being used to move a load of hardwood to the edge of the deck of a transport trailer. A young worker stood on the raised forks of a lift truck, attempting to remove the pallet jack, when the jack's wheel fell off the trailer deck. The upper skid of product (approximately 1 ton) tilted and fell forward, pinning the worker between the load and the mast of the lift truck.
Injury Type : Crush injuries to two fingers
Core Activity : Baked goods manufacture
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2005154970244
Date of Incident : 2005-Nov
A young worker was trying to remove dough from the gears of a bun-making machine when two fingers became caught in the unguarded gears.
Injury Type : Fractured hip
Core Activity : Oil and gas or mineral exploration, or prospecting
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2005091090062
Date of Incident : 2005-Nov
An all-terrain vehicle (ATV) was incorrectly loaded, with 80 percent of its load on the rear wheels. The driver (a young worker) lost control of the vehicle, jumped off, and was run over.
Injury Type : Fracture and crush injuries to forearm
Core Activity : Meat processing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005105910235
Date of Incident : 2005-Nov
As a young worker attempted to clear an emulsion from a metal grate on top of a mixer, the worker's arm got caught in the pivot point between the edge of the mixer and a bucket of meat products being elevated into the mixer.
Injury Type : Fractured skull and wrist; lacerated head; dislocated fingers
Core Activity : Window and gutter cleaning
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005113830539
Date of Incident : 2005-Nov
A young worker was cleaning the gutters of a house when he tripped and fell approximately 20 feet from the roof to the ground.
Injury Type : Bruising to back of neck
Core Activity : Oil or gas drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2005091090063
Date of Incident : 2005-Nov
A metal bushing (small piece of steel) came loose from the elevators, fell approximately 14 metres, and struck a young worker.
Injury Type : Mild concussion
Core Activity : Log hauling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005110750469
Date of Incident : 2005-Nov
A log loader was removing logs from the rear trailer of a logging truck. The logs inadvertently knocked a log off the front trailer, striking the logging truck driver (a young worker).
Injury Type : Twisted knee
Core Activity : House or other wood frame construction or renovation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005155730097
Date of Incident : 2005-Nov
An interlocking retaining wall was built at one edge of an excavation, with a sloped surface above it. While attempting to pull up a roll of plastic sheeting from the excavation, a young worker fell 6 feet into the excavation.
Injury Type : Chest pain, coughing, scratchy throat, dizziness (5 workers)
Core Activity : Completion work on a sour natural gas well
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2005154930136
Date of Incident : 2005-Oct
During well completion operations, which spanned several days, five workers - including one young worker - on a co-ordinated worksite (2 employers) were exposed to harmful levels of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) gases.
Injury Type : Concussion
Core Activity : Cable logging
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005034450453
Date of Incident : 2005-Oct
A young worker (chokerman) walked into the landing, indicating that a cable had struck his head as he walked uphill to start another row.
Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Gas station
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005130570417
Date of Incident : 2005-Oct
A gas station convenience store was robbed by two people with a knife and a gun. The young worker on duty alone at the time was not physically harmed.
Injury Type : Fractured bone in wrist
Core Activity : Cement manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005117930219
Date of Incident : 2005-Oct
A young worker was brushing gravel off the bottom side of a moving unguarded horizontal conveyor belt with a gloved hand. The glove got caught in the conveyor belt and the worker's hand was pulled between the belt and the solid tail pulley.
Injury Type : Concussion, head laceration
Core Activity : Gutter installation
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005112130173
Date of Incident : 2005-Oct
A young worker removing old roof gutters from a townhouse slipped and fell 8 feet.
Injury Type : Bruising and abrasions
Core Activity : Wood frame construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2005138190234
Date of Incident : 2005-Oct
A framer (young worker) fell approximately 14 feet from a roof with a 10/12 slope and struck a wood-frame scaffold before landing on the ground.
Injury Type : Facial lacerations, swelling, and suspected fractures
Core Activity : Pole wood preserving plant
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005156160084
Date of Incident : 2005-Oct
A young worker was struck in the face by a block of wood that shot out from under the tire of a wheel loader travelling over debris. The block weighed almost 10 pounds and travelled 40 feet before striking the worker.
Injury Type : Severed thumb
Core Activity : Concrete products manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005117670522
Date of Incident : 2005-Oct
A young worker's thumb was severed below the knuckle when it was caught between the inside form and the outside steel form being stripped for a large-diameter concrete pipe.
Injury Type : Second-degree burns to neck and upper back
Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005112390125
Date of Incident : 2005-Sep
A coffee basket containing hot material was dislodged from a commercial coffee maker, and its contents fell onto the neck and back of a young worker.
Injury Type : Strained neck, shoulder, and chest muscles
Core Activity : Hotel
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005112390124
Date of Incident : 2005-Sep
An unidentified person came up behind a room attendant and pushed the young worker to the ground.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Chicken catching
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005101100060
Date of Incident : 2005-Sep
While catching chickens for market, a young worker was run over by the front wheel of a forklift truck that was reversing inside a poultry barn.
Injury Type : Compound fractures of one finger
Core Activity : Sawmill (unscrambler/cleanup)
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005131490244
Date of Incident : 2005-Sep
A young worker was using a 2x4 board to clear wood waste jammed near the tail-end of a waste conveyor that was still in motion. The board was caught by the conveyor and crushed his finger against the metal conveyor sheeting.
Injury Type : Minor bruising to side of head and chest
Core Activity : Planing mill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005131490223
Date of Incident : 2005-Aug
A young worker was removing metal banding from two bundles of lumber stacked on the tilt hoist. When the worker cut the banding from the lower bundle, the bundle collapsed. The worker was caught between the spilled lumber and another bundle of lumber sitting on the infeed transfer deck.
Injury Type : Severe crushing injuries to ankle
Core Activity : Drywall delivery (truck loading)
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005064400071
Date of Incident : 2005-Aug
A young worker's ankle was crushed when a runaway forklift truck brushed against the passenger door of a delivery truck where the worker had climbed for safety. The worker's ankle was caught between the door and the floorboard.
Injury Type : Severe crushing injuries and multiple fractures of one hand
Core Activity : Retail butcher shop and wholesale meat supplier
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005111770209
Date of Incident : 2005-Aug
A young worker was using a forklift truck to remove a pallet of meat from a refrigerated tractor-trailer. While seated on the forklift truck, the worker reached sideways to pull the back doors of the trailer further open. His foot slipped off the brake and onto the gas pedal. The lift truck accelerated forward, crushing the worker's hand between the back corner post of the forklift's OPS and a trailer door.
Injury Type : Abrasions to head and hand
Core Activity : Auto service or repair
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005034450314
Date of Incident : 2005-Aug
A log truck driver (young worker) was servicing brakes in a maintenance shop. A nearby inflated truck tire standing upright on the shop floor blew off a rebuilt rim and knocked down the driver.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Prefabricated building manufacture
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005134580275
Date of Incident : 2005-Aug
Two workers were assisting a forklift operator by placing dunnage under a bundle of wood roof trusses (weighing approximately 2,200 lb.) loaded on a steel cart, to facilitate the cart being moved up an inclined loading ramp. As the forklift raised one end of the truss bundle, the bundle fell over and fatally crushed one of the workers (a young worker).
Injury Type : Fatal (1 worker); electrical burns (1 worker)
Core Activity : Low-slope roofing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2005109910130
Date of Incident : 2005-Aug
Workers were manoeuvring an aluminum railing (24 feet long) on a third-storey balcony. The railing contacted an energized 7200-volt electrical conductor 7.5 feet from the balcony edge. A young worker was electrocuted; a second worker was burned.
Injury Type : Bruised ribs
Core Activity : Low-slope roofing
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2005137290199
Date of Incident : 2005-Aug
A young worker fell partially through a covered roof opening.
Injury Type : Back injury
Core Activity : House or other wood frame construction or renovation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2005137290201
Date of Incident : 2005-Aug
A young worker fell 11 feet while removing roofing material.
Injury Type : Strains and bruises (2 workers); injuries to both hands, possible concussion (1 worker)
Core Activity : Garbage collection
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005115520158
Date of Incident : 2005-Aug
A rear-loading garbage truck went out of control, crossed the median, and flipped onto the driver's side, landing partially on a car headed in the opposite direction. The young worker and the other worker in the garbage truck sustained strains and bruises; the worker in the car sustained more complex injuries.
Injury Type : Multiple fracture of one foot, abrasions
Core Activity : Chartered boat tours
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005154890041
Date of Incident : 2005-Aug
A young worker was guiding a cart loaded with approximately 300 pounds of goods backwards down a dock ramp. The cart went out of control and the worker was crushed between the cart and a building at the bottom of the ramp.
Injury Type : Arm injuries including fracture, lacerations, and loss of motor and sensory function
Core Activity : Gravel pit
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005117650602
Date of Incident : 2005-Jul
A young worker's arm was caught between the conveyor belt and the roller below the feed hopper (power screener).
Injury Type : Fractured wrist
Core Activity : Painting catskinner (chair-lift) station
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005117650601
Date of Incident : 2005-Jul
A young worker was painting a chairlift drive station/structure. His personal fall protection was attached to an inadequate anchor that gave way when loaded, causing the worker to fall to the ground 20 feet below.
Injury Type : Second-degree burns to hand, shoulder, and side
Core Activity : Replacing gutters
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005140330155
Date of Incident : 2005-Jul
A young worker in an elevated boom lift was removing aluminum gutters from a condominium. As he pulled one section free, momentum carried it inside the limits of approach and it contacted an energized overhead 25-kV power line.
Injury Type : Skull fracture, head laceration, chest contusion
Core Activity : Drywalling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2005154960110
Date of Incident : 2005-Jul
A young worker fell 9 feet onto a concrete floor off an elevated aluminum extension plank while applying drywall compound. The stepladder supporting the plank had toppled.
Injury Type : Punctured lung, soft-tissue injuries
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005116740144
Date of Incident : 2005-Jul
A young worker was installing plywood sheeting on the roof of a cabin. After picking up a sheet to move it into position, he lost his balance and fell 9 feet to the ground below.
Injury Type : Head laceration
Core Activity : Integrated forest management
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005126770171
Date of Incident : 2005-Jul
A young worker was operating a tracked skidder when it experienced a brake line failure and lost its brakes. The skidder ran downslope about 300 yards, went over a cutbank, landed on a haul road, and flopped onto its side.
Injury Type : Fractured arm
Core Activity : Fish processing or fish reduction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2005137290165
Date of Incident : 2005-Jun
A young worker's arm was caught in a moving conveyor that the worker was cleaning.
Injury Type : Severe head and neck injuries
Core Activity : Residential painting
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005154900084
Date of Incident : 2005-Jun
A young worker fell approximately 20 feet from a ladder while painting the exterior of a house.
Injury Type : Amputation of arm
Core Activity : Sawmilling fence components
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2005124120182
Date of Incident : 2005-Jun
A young worker's arm became caught in a ten-blade horizontal edger saw.
Injury Type : Respiratory symptoms (6 workers, including 2 young workers)
Core Activity : Chemical pulp mill
Location : BC
ID Number : 2005146890142
Date of Incident : 2005-Jun
Four contract workers and two mill employees were exposed to chlorine dioxide when a chlorine dioxide solution line ruptured. The old piping system had corroded enough to crack the Teflon liner.
Injury Type : Deep lacerations to foot
Core Activity : Warehouse
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005147280187
Date of Incident : 2005-Jun
A young worker was driving a stand-up counterbalanced forklift in reverse. The lift truck ran into a metal stand and the worker's foot was caught under the rear of the vehicle.
Injury Type : Amputation of several digits of one hand
Core Activity : Woodworking
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005093720206
Date of Incident : 2005-May
A young worker was cutting 1x4 lumber with a chop saw activated by a foot pedal. The unguarded foot control was inadvertently activated and the saw dropped, cutting off several digits of one of the worker's hands.
Injury Type : Fractured pelvis
Core Activity : Roofing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005107970276
Date of Incident : 2005-May
A roofer (young worker) was climbing on a 7/12 roof to attach a lifeline when he fell approximately 16 feet.
Injury Type : Knee injury
Core Activity : Building construction
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2005124590213
Date of Incident : 2005-May
A fire destroyed a condominium complex that was still under construction. At the time of the fire, a torch-on roof membrane was being installed. A drywaller (young worker) sustained minor injuries when evacuating the building.
Injury Type : Water aspiration, abrasions, contusions, possible concussion
Core Activity : Marine garbage collection
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005147280151
Date of Incident : 2005-May
A young worker was operating a forklift on a barge in water approximately 65 feet deep. The forklift was moving backwards and went over the unguarded stern of the barge into the water. The operator stayed with the forklift until it came to rest, then swam to the surface. Another worker on the barge entered the water and, with help from others on the barge, retrieved the operator from the water.
Injury Type : Exposure to unknown substance causing throat irritation/coughing (2 workers)
Core Activity : Restaurant
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005146960112
Date of Incident : 2005-May
Two workers - one of them a young worker - were exposed to an unknown irritant substance that was released in the restaurant.
Injury Type : Severed thumbtip
Core Activity : Wooden component manufacture
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2005136970138
Date of Incident : 2005-May
A young worker was cutting small narrow strips of wood on a band saw. He had a push stick in one hand and was guiding a piece of wood with his other hand when the wood slipped.
Injury Type : Partial amputation of four fingers on one hand
Core Activity : Compressor maintenance
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005070890041
Date of Incident : 2005-Apr
A young worker was servicing a portable compressor. Its cooling fan was enclosed by a wire guard that had a small section of wire missing. The worker's fingers contacted the rotating cooling fan blades through the small opening in the guard.
Injury Type : Minor injuries
Core Activity : Framing/installation of wood trusses
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005114550107
Date of Incident : 2005-Apr
A young worker standing on the top plate of an interior wooden 2x4 wall fell approximately 8 feet, landing on a bundle of wooden trusses.
Injury Type : Fatal (2 workers)
Core Activity : Fixed-wing IFR operation
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2005138190082
Date of Incident : 2005-Apr
A twin-engine aircraft with an engine fire crashed at the end of a runway while attempting to land. Both pilots, one of them a young worker, died.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Tree topping
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005090570190
Date of Incident : 2005-Apr
A faller (young worker) was struck by a felled tree.
Injury Type : Bruising to head and body
Core Activity : Framing
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005037470134
Date of Incident : 2005-Mar
A young worker fell through an open stairwell to a basement 8 feet below.
Injury Type : Gunshot wound of upper arm and chest (1 young worker); gunshot wound of jaw (1 worker)
Core Activity : Marina
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005107270067
Date of Incident : 2005-Mar
Two workers were shot by an assailant suspected to be mentally disturbed.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Service station
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005140330055
Date of Incident : 2005-Mar
A gas station attendant (young worker) was struck by a vehicle and dragged several kilometres down the road.
Injury Type : Severe burns to legs
Core Activity : Fabrication and service
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005104070051
Date of Incident : 2005-Mar
A welder (young worker) was welding the grousers on the tracks of a machine when sparks set his coveralls (behind his leather chaps) on fire. The coveralls were later inspected and found to be old, worn, and no longer fire retardant.
Injury Type : Exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas causing loss of consciousness
Core Activity : Oil or gas production
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2005153370048
Date of Incident : 2005-Feb
A production operator (young worker) lost consciousness for several seconds when he was exposed to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas while removing a pressure gauge from an acid gas injection well. The worker was not wearing the required respirator.
Injury Type : Amputation of three fingertips
Core Activity : Wholesale tire, battery, parts, and accessories store
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005117930039
Date of Incident : 2005-Feb
A young worker was using a rag to clean the conveyor belt chain of a chain-driven power transmission. The chain caught the rag and pulled the worker's hand into the sprocket drive.
Injury Type : Severe scalding injuries
Core Activity : Hydro-vac soil excavation
Location : BC
ID Number : 2005124490032
Date of Incident : 2005-Feb
A young worker was exposing an underground gas line using a high-pressure hot water gun. The worker slipped, lost control of the wand, and was struck by a direct stream of scalding hot water.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Quarry core drilling
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005999020024
Date of Incident : 2005-Feb
A drill operator (young worker) was turning an air-track drill adjacent to a 14.4-kV power line. The top of the drill contacted the power line and the worker sustained high-voltage trauma.
Injury Type : Tearing injuries to three fingers, including a severed tendon in one
Core Activity : Sawmill
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005102100025
Date of Incident : 2005-Jan
A young worker's fingers (one hand) were caught in the drive chain/sprocket at the strip transfer deck.
Injury Type : Possible exposure to hydrogen cyanide (3 workers)
Core Activity : Analytical laboratory
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005146490073
Date of Incident : 2005-Jan
Three laboratory analysts (including 1 young worker) felt ill (nausea, stomach cramps, heaviness in limbs).
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Oil or gas well drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2005124490018
Date of Incident : 2005-Jan
A derrickman (young worker) on a drilling rig fell from the derrick when attempting to escape from the monkey board (platform up in the derrick) following the loss of well control, which had resulted in a large gas explosion and fire.
Injury Type : Loss of consciousness
Core Activity : Oil or gas well drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2005153370016
Date of Incident : 2005-Jan
A young worker fell approximately 5 feet off of a drilling rig mud tank and was found unconscious.
Injury Type : Injuries to abdomen and one hip
Core Activity : Fin fish farming
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2005113820040
Date of Incident : 2005-Jan
A young worker was attempting to secure a fish farm feed bag that had slipped from the forks of a forklift. Standing on the side of the forklift, the worker inadvertently activated the controls of the machine, crushing himself between the mast and the FOPS.
Injury Type : Amputated finger
Core Activity : Metal recycling
Location : Vancouver Island
ID Number : 2005138190032
Date of Incident : 2005-Jan
A young worker had a finger amputated while was cutting up lengths of scrap wire rope with an unguarded metal shear.
Injury Type : Fractured ankle
Core Activity : Roofing installation
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005037470031
Date of Incident : 2005-Jan
A young worker was on a snow-covered steep-sloped (9/12) roof. He headed for a ladder, slipped, slid 8 feet to the edge of the roof, then fell 9.5 feet to the ground. The worker was wearing fall arrest equipment but the rope grab failed to arrest his fall.
Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Vinyl siding application
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2005105910004
Date of Incident : 2005-Jan
A vinyl siding installer (young worker) fell 18.5 feet from an unguarded balcony on the third floor of an apartment building.
Injury Type : Whiplash, seatbelt burns, bruises (1 young worker); broken nose, lacerated eye, broken rib, whiplash, sore neck muscles, seatbelt bruises (1 worker)
Core Activity : Light industrial equipment, machinery, or parts or power tool service (less than 500 lb.)
Location : Central Interior
ID Number : 2005110750018
Date of Incident : 2005-Jan
A company vehicle struck another vehicle as it pulled out of a side road.
Injury Type : Exposure to mercury (2 workers)
Core Activity : Janitorial services
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2005109750010
Date of Incident : 2005-Jan
Two workers, one of them a young worker, were cleaning a laboratory when a small bottle of mercury (15 mL) spilled onto the floor. The workers attempted to clean up the mercury and were exposed to the liquid and vapour, requiring emergency treatment in hospital.
Other YW Incidents
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