Critical Injuries - Ontario

Critical Injuries – Ontario

In Ontario, the Occupational Health & Safety Act (OHSA) sets the formal requirements for reporting injuries to the Ministry of Labour (MOL). Not to be confused with the Ontario Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB) which also has injury reporting requirements.

OHSA Requirements – If an incident causes a “Critical Injury” or a “Non-Critical injury” both require medical attention or disabled from performing their normal duties, a written notification is required to the Ministry of Labour (MOL) “Critical Injury” – Immediate Reporting required / Written Report within 48 hours – “Non-Critical Injury” Written Report within 4 Days - depending on your industry sector.

Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WS&IB) “First Aid Injury” must be documented with the Employer, “Medical Aid” (medical professional involvement – hospital care) reported within 3 business days. Can be done online using their provided form. Not determined if the injury will result in lost time at the point of reporting.

The focus of this article is a “Critical Injury” and how we can be prepared to respond when tragedy strikes.

A “Critical Injury” is defined by Regulation 834 of the Ontario Occupational Health & Safety Act (OHSA) a serious injury that places life in jeopardy, results in unconsciousness, produces loss of blood, consists of burns to a major portion of the body or causes the loss of sight. While the fracture or amputation of one finger or toe is not considered a critical injury, the fracture or amputation of more than one finger or toe would be considered a critical injury.

Confused? The best advice is to report the injury to the Ministry of Labour and let them provide direction if the injury meets the formal definition of a Critical Injury. Ensure that you document this discussion and decision.

Our first objective in an emergency is always to protect life, so being prepared to provide medical assistance and having an emergency plan are basic requirements. Remember when this really happens you may not recall all of the required steps or phone numbers or even the address to your place of business. Develop an emergency plan and practice at least yearly for medical emergencies – not just for fire and building evacuations. 

So what are the basic steps to follow?

1.  Assist – Respond / Rescue / Call for Assistance Medical / Fire 911

2.  Secure Area – Make Area Safe - Lock Out Equipment – Do Not Allow Anyone To Change Area or Continue Work – called “Preservation of Wreckage” (section 51 (2))

3.  Notify – Management - Ministry of Labour – Union Representative (if applicable) – Injured Workers Family – Joint Health & Safety Committee Designated Members immediately following the rescue.

4.  Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for Ministry of Labour – Stay with Inspector during the investigation – take notes /copies of all statements made, comments, documents provided, pictures and measurements.

5.  Prepare Investigation Report for the Director of the Ministry of Labour. Must be sent within 48 hours of the incident.

The investigation report to be sent to the Ministry of Labour should contain only the information requested in the regulation (section 51(1)) and available at the time of writing. Do not speculate on the cause or attempt to affix blame. The contents of the report, along with any statements made can be used in any potential prosecution.

You may want to consider seeking Legal Counsel prior to releasing the report or arranging any interviews of Company Officers, Managers and Supervisors.

We have covered the suggestion to expand your emergency plan and training to include medical emergencies. Also, check your investigation procedure to ensure you have a process written on how to deal with Critical Injury investigations.

Some other examples for consideration is having the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) chosen and trained with a backup defined, Designated Joint Health & Safety Committee members contact information and responsibilities clearly defined. An Investigation kit with forms and phone numbers, pens, and paper (still in use in 2018) rubber gloves, barrier tape, etc. Another would be the Communication Plan to employees, shareholders, press, public, etc. Who, What, Where, and When – sounds basic but in real time during emergencies, we can miss a step or two.   

At this point, I am reminded of the Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared”. Robert Baden-Powell stated “the meaning of the motto is that a scout must prepare himself by previous thinking out and be practicing how to act on any accident or emergency so that he is never taken by surprise”

Being prepared can reduce the impact and scope of the event. I hope you found this article helpful – if you have any comments or questions please feel free to contact me directly.

Michael Matthew

Country Director Canada Safe365 Ltd.

416.562.4220

Mike@safe365.ca

Http://Try.Safe365.ca