Saint John, NB: The Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission (WHSCC) of New Brunswick is pleased to announce that it will begin to publish non-specific details relating to a small sample of the serious workplace accidents happening around the province.
“We’re taking this step because we believe one of the key elements of successful accident prevention is the timely delivery of information relating to hazards and risks in the workplace,” says Dave Greason, Vice-President of the Commission’s WorkSafe Services Division. “We want employers and workers to know what kinds of accidents are happening in their industry as they occur, so they can quickly implement changes at their worksite that are in everyone’s best interest.”
Content for the Accident Reports is drawn from the WHSCC’s Preliminary Accident Notification documents, which are created when the Commission is notified that a serious workplace accident has taken place.
“No specific details, such as the names of employers or injured workers, will be made public,” Greason explains. “We’re focussing directly on the accident – because that’s what we want to be able to prevent in the future.”
Accident Reports will be published on an ongoing basis in WHSCC News – the Commission’s print-edition newsletter; WHSCC E-News – the Commission’s monthly email newsletter; and on the Commission website, at www.whscc.nb.ca.
SAMPLE ACCIDENT REPORT
Date of Accident: February, 2005
Injury Type: Head injury
Hospitalized: Yes
Industry/Nature of work: Forestry Services/Labourer
Location: Northwest
Notes: The worker was operating a mulching grinder, when a large piece of metal came off the machine and struck the worker in the head. The worker was wearing a hard hat at the time.