Construction incident summaries are based on information obtained as soon as possible after the incidents: they are preliminary and subject to change. Details have been edited to protect workers’ privacy.
Core Activity: House or other wood frame contracting, construction, or renovation work
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2022-Feb
As a worker was cutting a small piece of wood (1 inch by 1 inch) with a circular saw, one of the worker’s fingers contacted the blade.
Injury Type: Fatal
Core Activity: Steep slope roofing
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2022-Feb
While completing roofing activities, a young worker fell 30.5 feet to the hard, compact ground. The worker was transported to hospital but succumbed to their injuries.
Injury Type: Laceration, suspected concussion
Core Activity: Building demolition
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2022-Feb
A worker was manually removing concrete chunks of a broken-up slab. The worker dropped a chunk of concrete on the curved end of a pry bar, which caused the handle of the bar to spring up and strike the worker.
Injury Type: Close call
Core Activity: Concrete placing, finishing, surfacing, or repair
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2022-Feb
A crane was transporting a flexible intermediate bulk container (fabric bag) full of concrete debris (weighing about 2,000 pounds). The load was about 30 feet above the ground when the bag’s straps failed and the concrete fell onto a shipping container below. No injuries were reported.
Injury Type: Lacerated hand
Core Activity: House or other wood frame contracting, construction, or renovation work / Institutional contracting or construction
Location: Vancouver Island/Coastal B.C.
Date of Incident: 2022-Feb
A worker was cutting a small piece of plywood with a circular saw when one hand contacted the blade.
Injury Type: Close call
Core Activity: House or other wood frame contracting, construction, or renovation work / Excavator operation
Location: Interior B.C.
Date of Incident: 2022-Feb
At a residential jobsite, an excavator’s bucket contacted a buried gas line, resulting in a gas leak and explosion. The explosion damaged a building. No injuries were reported.
Injury Type: Puncture wound to leg
Core Activity: Framing or residential forming
Location: Vancouver Island/Coastal B.C.
Date of Incident: 2022-Feb
While conducting framing activities on a new construction project, a worker hung a pneumatic nail gun from their carpenter’s pouch. The nail gun fired a 3-inch nail into the worker.
Injury Type: Undetermined injuries
Core Activity: Industrial, commercial, institutional, or highrise residential contracting or construction
Location: Interior B.C.
Date of Incident: 2022-Feb
During framing activities, a worker lifted a sheet of plywood that was covering a floor opening. The worker fell 10 feet, through the opening to the concrete floor.
Injury Type: Bruising
Core Activity: Painting or wallpapering
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2022-Feb
While performing painting work from a scaffold, a worker fell off the scaffold and landed on the ground.
Injury Type: Close call
Core Activity: Concrete cutting or coring / House or other wood frame contracting, construction, or renovation work
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2022-Feb
A worker was cutting a section of concrete sidewalk with a walk-behind circular saw. The saw blade contacted and damaged a 12 kV underground electrical conductor. The line had been identified as being 3 feet below ground but was near the surface where the cutting was occurring. The damage wasn’t apparent until the utility owner started receiving calls about a power outage in the area.
Injury Type: Close call
Core Activity: Building demolition
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2022-Feb
During the demolition of a structurally unsound building, an excavator exposed and broke a gas line inside the building. The excavator operator smelled gas; they stopped work and evacuated the area, and the employer contacted the utility owner.
Injury Type: Injuries to head
Core Activity: Framing or residential forming / House or other wood frame contracting, construction, or renovation work
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2022-Jan
A worker was dismantling a temporary work platform inside a residential building when the worker fell about 11 feet to the floor below.
Injury Type: Broken leg
Core Activity: Low slope roofing
Location: Interior B.C.
Date of Incident: 2022-Jan
A worker fell about 20 feet from an extension ladder to grade.
Injury Type: Fractured leg
Core Activity: Oil or gas pipeline construction or repair
Location: Interior B.C.
Date of Incident: 2022-Jan
A worker had exited a crew transport bus and was walking toward their machine when they slipped.
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