Knowing exactly what to do if an accident or other incident occurs in your workplace can relieve a lot of the stress and worry. First,you must ensure that any injured workers receive first aid and, if necessary, immediate medical treatment.

Please call Teleclaim at 1.888.WORKERS (1.888.967.5377) as soon as possible if a worker:

• Is taken from or leaves the jobsite for treatment at a medical facility
• Misses time from work after the day of the injury
• Loses consciousness
• Is diagnosed with a work-related disease
• Develops symptoms of a mental health disorder related to work or the work environment
• Suffers broken eyeglasses, dentures, a hearing aid, or an artificial limb due to a work-related incident

You must also immediately report serious incidents and fatalities to us by calling the Prevention Information Line. This is in addition to reporting any injury related to a claim.

Prevention Information Line

Phone: 604.276.3100 (Lower Mainland)

Toll-free: 1.888.621.7233 (1.888.621.SAFE) (Canada)

For all other injuries and illnesses, you must report to Teleclaim within three business days of the injury occurring, or within three business days of when you become aware of the injury.

Reporting injuries and incidents

Incident in which a worker is injured

• Provide first aid and transportation to the nearest medical facility, as required.
• Report the incident to us within three days of the worker reporting the incident to you, or the day you become aware of the incident, whichever is earlier.
• Submit the Employer's Report of Injury or Occupational Disease (form 7) within three days.
• Investigate the causes and contributing factors of the incident, and determine procedures or modifications to prevent similar incidents in the future (see "Incident investigations" on pages 23-24).

See "Critical Incident Response Program" on page 29 for information on assistance and support for you and your workers following a traumatic incident.

Reporting serious incidents and fatalities

Employers must immediately report the following serious incidents: • A fatality or serious injury

• A major release of a hazardous substance
• A major structural failure or collapse of a building, bridge, tower, crane, hoist, temporary construction support system, or excavation • A blasting accident that causes personal injury, or any other dangerous incident involving explosives, whether or not there is an injury
• A diving incident, as defined by section 24.34 of the Regulation • A dangerous incident involving a fire or explosion that had potential for causing serious injury to a worker
  

Serious incident in which no worker is injured

Any serious incident, even one where no one gets hurt, must also be reported and investigated.

• Report the incident immediately through our Prevention Information Line.
• Investigate the causes and contributing factors of the incident, and determine procedures or modifications to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Reporting to the Prevention Information Line

To report a serious workplace incident, call the Prevention Information Line at 604.276.3100 in the Lower Mainland or 1.888.621.7233 (621.SAFE) toll-free in Canada.

For fatalities and serious injuries, call the numbers above 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Incident investigations

Employers are responsible for investigating certain incidents or near misses that take place in the workplace and submitting an investigation report to WorkSafeBC. An incident investigation is a separate process from reporting the incident. These investigations help employers and WorkSafeBC determine why an incident happened and what can be done to prevent similar situations in the future.

Employers are responsible for immediately conducting an investigation into any incident that involves:

• Serious injury to a worker or a worker's death
• Injury requiring medical treatment
• Minor injury, or no injury, but had the potential for causing serious injury
• Major structural failure or collapse
• Major release of hazardous substances
• A diving incident, as defined by section 24.34 of the Regulation
• A dangerous incident involving explosive materials
• A blasting incident causing personal injury

Section 173 of the Act provides more details about what incidents employers must investigate.

You must complete a preliminary investigation and accompanying report within 48 hours of an incident.

Goals of an investigation

As much as possible, an investigation must do the following:

• Determine the causes of the incident.
• Identify any unsafe conditions, acts, or procedures that contributed to the incident.
• Recommend corrective actions to prevent similar incidents.

Investigation report

After completing an investigation, you must submit the full investigation report to WorkSafeBC within 30 days of the incident. You will also need to provide a copy to your joint health and safety committee or worker representative, as applicable.

WorkSafeBC investigations

In addition to employer investigations, we may investigate workplace incidents that resulted in a death or an injury, or had the potential to cause serious injury. Investigations help us determine why an incident happened, gather information about industry trends, and provide recommendations to prevent future incidents.

Submitting claims and investigation forms

Once you are aware of a work-related injury, you must submit the following forms to WorkSafeBC:

• Employer's Report of Injury or Occupational Disease (form 7)
• Employer Incident Investigation Report (form 52E40)

Online

Using our online tool is the fastest way to report a workplace injury and submit the relevant claims and investigation forms. On the worksafebc.com home page, under "Popular links," click "Report a workplace injury."

By fax or mail

• Fax form 52E40 to 604.276.3247 in the Lower Mainland or 1.866.240.1434 toll-free.
• Fax form 7 to 604.233.9777 in the Lower Mainland or 1.888.922.8807 toll-free.
• Mail to WorkSafeBC, PO Box 5350 Stn Terminal, Vancouver, BC V6B 5L5.

Once the necessary forms have been filed by the employer, worker, and health care provider, we will begin processing the claim and provide a claim number. You can use the claim number to check the status of a claim on worksafebc.com/claims or by calling the Claims Call Centre at 604.231.8888 in the Lower Mainland or 1.888.967.5377 toll-free in Canada.

Determining eligibility for a claim

Once we receive a report of a work-related injury or illness, we gather information from the worker, the employer, and the health care provider. Once all parties have submitted their reports, we can then determine eligibility for benefits.

Two types of benefits can result from a claim:

• Wage-loss includes decisions such as the wage rate and duration of the disability.
• Health care benefits include treatments such a physiotherapy, surgeries, medical assessments, and medications.

There are two types of benefits that can result during the later stages of a claim:

• Vocational rehabilitation may be available when a work-related injury or illness affects a worker's ability to return to a previous job. For more information, see "Vocational rehabilitation services" on pages 28-29.
• Permanent disability benefits may be available when a work related injury or illness results in a permanent disability. If a worker's functional abilities are permanently affected, the worker may be eligible for a permanent disability award. The amount of the award depends on the circumstances of the claim.