Reporting a Workplace Illness or Injury

ven when operations managers and business owners take every available precaution to prevent injury in the workplace, unavoidable accidents sometimes occur. And despite the best intentions, sometimes these injuries do actually result from negligent employers and unsafe conditions. Regardless of the cause of the accident, proper and accurate reporting must take place immediately after the incident occurs. According to the Ontario Ministry of Labour, several steps must be taken by the mining plant owner, mine owner, employer constructor, or business owner to notify the proper personnel.

Who Should Be Notified

The Ministry of Labor Health and Safety Contact Center, The Joint Health and Safety Committee, and the union (if one exists) should be contacted immediately if any person is injured or killed in the workplace, whether that person is a worker or not. The employer must also send a written message to the director of the Ministry of Labour, and this message must be delivered within 48 hours. The message should document all available details regarding the incident.

The Joint Health and Safety Committee and the union must be notified within four days. Again, the notification should involve a written message that documents every detail of the incident include the circumstances and the apparent cause of the injury or accident.

Occupational Illness

If a worker has contracted an occupational illness or filed an occupational illness claim with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, the employer will have four days to send written notification to the Ministry of Labour, the Joint Health and Safety Committee, and the union. These rules apply to both current and former workers.

The Ministry of Labour, the Joint Health and Safety Committee, and the union will also need to be informed within two days if an incident or accident occurs that could have caused injury, but no workers or non-workers on the site were hurt. Again, this message should contain all available and prescribed information, and it should be submitted by the owner of the mine or mining plant, the constructor, or the employer.

Self-employed workers must also follow the same rules, submitting written notification containing all available details and circumstances to the Ministry of Labour in the event of a workplace illness or injury. This message must be submitted within the same time frames described above. Employers and self-employed individuals with questions should contact the Ministry of Labour or visit the Ministry website. In the meantime, contact the experts at Lift Temp for additional assistance.