WorkSafeBC investigating the incident
A worker at an Abbotsford, B.C., garbage transfer station suffered life-threatening injuries Wednesday after being struck by a commercial vehicle, prompting a WorkSafeBC investigation and starting a 48-hour clock for the employer's own preliminary probe.
Abbotsford police told CBC News the man sustained "serious, life-threatening injuries" at the facility at 34613 Vye Road. He was taken to hospital; no update on his condition was reported.
CBC did not identify the worker, his employer, the transfer station's operator or the driver.
Police and WorkSafeBC respond
Officers were called just after 8 a.m. PT to what police described as an "industrial workplace incident," CBC News reported.
Police said the incident does not appear criminal. The facility was closed to the public for the rest of the day.
WorkSafeBC said it has opened an investigation to identify and understand any occupational health and safety factors that may have contributed, according to CBC.
Employer duties after a serious injury
A B.C. employer must complete a preliminary investigation and report within 48 hours of an incident that seriously injures a worker, unless WorkSafeBC grants an extension, according to the regulator.
A full investigation into the cause must follow, with a report submitted to WorkSafeBC within 30 days. The duty also covers near misses that could have seriously harmed a worker, WorkSafeBC says.
Since Jan. 1, 2024, all B.C. employers and injured workers have had a legal duty to co-operate with each other and with WorkSafeBC, according to the regulator, and employers with 20 or more workers must also maintain the employment of an injured worker they have employed for at least a year. Canadian Occupational Safety has previously reported on these new return-to-work duties for B.C. employers.
Supervision, struck-by risks and fatality data
In a June 11 decision, the B.C. Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal upheld a $10,000 penalty against a siding contractor that blamed its supervisor for a fall protection breach. The panel found that "a failing of the supervisor at the worksite is a failing of the employer at the worksite."
COS previously reported on an Oak Bay, B.C., municipal worker struck and killed by a vehicle while inspecting a manhole cover.
Nationally, seven of 11 jurisdictions saw their 2024 injury fatality rate rise compared with their 2021-2023 average, according to the University of Regina's 2026 report on work fatality and injury rates, as previously reported by COS. In B.C., the traumatic injury fatality rate fell in 2024 after two years of increases, co-author Sean Tucker told The Tyee.
