Recent Work Related Incidents Reported to WorSafeBC

September 17, 2024

Construction related 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.

See additional summaries online.

Injury Type: Bruising, scratches
Core Activity: Mechanized tunnel boring construction
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-JulID Number: 2024165370030
A worker was trying to determine if there was a charged air line by opening a 4-inch butterfly valve attached to the line. The worker tried to open the valve a small amount, but it fully opened. The worker was pulled into the line of the air release, struck by some debris in the line, and fell.
Injury Type: Burn, fractures
Core Activity: Electrical work
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-JulID Number: 2024203000018
A worker was standing on the third rung of a ladder, using a receptor to test the voltage of a receptacle. The worker received a shock and fell from the ladder.
Injury Type: Close call
Core Activity: Excavation operation / Local government and related operations
Location: Vancouver Island/Coastal B.C.
Date of Incident: 2024-JulID Number: 2024180340008
During installation of a residential wastewater line, a worker punctured a buried gas line with a pointed metal bar. The work area and nearby homes were evacuated.
Injury Type: Close call
Core Activity: Concrete placing, finishing, surfacing, or repair / House or other wood frame contracting, construction, or renovation work
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-JulID Number: 2024165370029
Formwork for a small concrete pour was constructed next to an HVAC duct. During the pour, this duct became a part of the formwork and failed. The duct work and a ceiling were damaged.
Injury Type: Lacerations, neck pain
Core Activity: Framing or residential forming / House or other wood frame contracting, construction, or renovation work
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-JulID Number: 2024206760001
A young worker was performing deck-sheathing activities when they fell between joists from the third storey to the second storey of a wood-framed multi-unit residential construction project. The fall distance was about 10 feet. The worker had been standing on unsecured plywood and had not been using any form of fall protection.
Injury Type: Laceration
Core Activity: Steel frame erection or structural repair of steel frames
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-JulID Number: 2024206820001
A worker was applying corrosion protection inside a sedimentation tank when they slipped and fell off one of the beams at the bottom of the tank.
Injury Type: Close call
Core Activity: Framing or residential forming / House or other wood frame contracting, construction, or renovation work
Location: Vancouver Island/Coastal B.C.
Date of Incident: 2024-JulID Number: 2024170630001
On the fifth floor of a five-storey building under construction, a temporarily supported wood framed deck (7 by 12 feet), consisting of 2x8s and 5/8-inch plywood, failed when loads were imposed on it. It struck the fourth-floor deck directly below it as it fell to grade.
Injury Type: Close call
Core Activity: Crane operation / Structural concrete forming / Industrial, commercial, institutional or highrise residential contracting or construction
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-JunID Number: 2024181570004
A worker was directing a tower crane as it performed a blind lift above a section of roadway that was temporarily closed. An outrigger thrust-out platform suspended from the crane contacted overhead 600-volt/3000-amp transit trolley lines, which dislodged from the suspension lines. No one was injured.
Injury Type: Fracture
Core Activity: Low slope roofing
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-JunID Number: 2024165370021
A worker was on a flat roof, handing up metal roofing to another worker when a wind gust occurred. As the worker tried to control the long metal panel, they lost balance and tripped over a roofing detail and fell against a guardrail. The post of the guardrail broke, and the worker fell 12 feet to hard-packed ground.
Injury Type: Injury to head
Core Activity: Electrical work / House or other wood frame contracting, construction, or renovation work
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-JunID Number: 2024173520001
A worker was using a stepladder on top of a rolling scaffold to install soffit lighting at a height of about 20 feet. The scaffold and ladder assembly tipped over, and the worker fell onto a concrete slab.
Injury Type: Injury to head
Core Activity: Drywalling or acoustic board installation
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-MayID Number: 2024189770004
To facilitate framing work, a worker was working on an extension ladder about 10 feet above a landing. The ladder had been placed through an un-sheeted hatch. The worker lost balance and fell to a concrete slab below.
Injury Type: Injury to upper body
Core Activity: Structural concrete forming
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-MayID Number: 2024178050005
A worker was grinding concrete surfaces, using a vacuum grinder equipped with a diamond grinding wheel and shroud. The grinding wheel disintegrated and parts of it struck the worker.