Worker injured in job-site fall
Details of company, location and date of incident kept secret by Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The organization responsible for ensuring worker safety in the territory won't say what company it's "looking into" after a construction worker fell more than three metres last week, receiving a head injury serious enough that the person was flown to Edmonton for treatment.
"We are looking into the matter to determine the facts of the situation," said Kim Walker, a Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission spokesperson. Walker said that doesn't mean WSCC has launched an investigation, which is considered different under the law.
By looking into the fall, she said the organization is checking compliance issues. Issues uncovered could result in charges against the unnamed company if WSCC finds they are warranted. The worker was not using a fall protection system at a residential/commercial site when they fell more than three metres to a concrete pad below while installing floor trusses.
The person hit their head and shoulders in the fall, according to a WSCC news release.
The release did not specify what company the person was working for, the date of the incident or where in the city the fall occurred.
The person was transported by ambulance to Stanton Territorial Hospital and then medevaced to Edmonton, the release states.
The city confirmed an ambulance responded but provided no further information.
Workers in the NWT and Nunavut working three metres or higher without standard guardrails must use fall protection equipment.
WSCC released a hazard alert reminding workers and companies of the rules, which apply to all work done on roofs by structural steel erectors, framers, and similar trades-persons regardless of the pitch of the roof.
A news release states both employees and employers are responsible for ensuring workplace safety. According to data provided by WSCC, falls from height represent just 0.5 per cent of all claims. In the past five years, there have been 86 claims involving falls from height in this territory and Nunavut, which WSCC also covers.
Of those, only 13 per cent involved injuries to a person's head or face.
The Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission declined to share with Yellowknifer many of the basic details of what occurred, citing a section of legislation that mandates information provided to WSCC as part of an investigation is kept confidential.
New Brunswick's workers safety organization, WorkSafeNB, routinely releases details like the company, date, location and manner of workplace injury or death, about workplace injuries.
