WorkSafeBC has found unsafe conditions at a worksite on Third Avenue in an inspection after a worker fell onto a piece of rebar and was airlifted to the hospital last month.
Mark Rice, who owns the subcontracting company MR Foundations, suffered facial injuries on the site June 5. He told The Chief rebar entered his lower lip and exited his nose.
Garveer Pabla, the owner of the primary contractor, Pabla Development Group Ltd., referred The Chief to the site’s safety co-ordinator who is responding to the WorkSafeBC investigation. The safety co-ordinator did not respond to The Chief’s multiple requests for comment over several days prior to press deadline.
In the June 11 report, from his visit to the site on June 6, the WorkSafeBC inspector notes he asked for copies of a site inspection, site orientation for all workers and written first aid procedures, but found none had been done at the workplace on Third Avenue.
The inspector noted that during his June 6 visit, he saw unprotected rebar on site. He described the site conditions as “untidy and not organized.” A follow-up inspection report June 19 said there were wind conditions, and boards with nails sticking out of them. He also noted there was a lack of support on the formwork, and additional bracing would be installed when crews returned to the site. The initial inspection wrote that a qualified co-ordinator was not present on site, as required by regulation, despite a previous discussion about a coordinator with the contractor. Since the attendant had left for the day on June 5, first aid was not supplied by the prime contractor.
“A diligent contractor would have had all of the above in place, to ensure everything that is reasonably practicable is in place to establish and maintain a system or process to ensure safety,” the report states.
“The overall site conditions were not safe due to the rebar poles, building materials, debris and site congestion. The lack of organization created hazards to the workers working on the site… Rebar dowel’s [sic] were not covered at the time of the incident on this site. This lack of protection for the workers on site, may have contributed to a more serious injury to the worker.”
The follow-up inspection report by WorkSafeBC from a visit on June 17 said a stop work order was put in place on June 13, and lifted four days later. In the follow-up report, the inspector said most of the debris and hazards at the site had been removed and workers were given an orientation and first aid procedures. A site superintendent was also being interviewed for the project.
As of the June 19 inspection report, the most recent document available, there were no outstanding orders or items issued by WorkSafeBC.
The inspection report also stated that WorkSafeBC was not notified of the June 5 injury by the primary contractor. A WorkSafeBC inspector visited the site of the incident after being notified “by person not related to the site, of a new paper [sic] article related to an accident which had occurred on June 5, 2019 in the late afternoon. I arrived on site at approximately 12:30 p.m. without any contact or evidence that WorkSafeBC had been contacted by the prime contractor,” the report issued on June 11 said.
The report said the employer said they were unaware they had to contact WorkSafeBC when a worker is injured on their site. On site, the primary contractor told the inspector that they believed the subcontractor had to report the incident.
Rice, the worker injured on June 5, has owned his business in Squamish for two and a half years, and has worked in the construction industry for more than 20 years, 12 of them in Squamish, he told The Chief.
MR Foundations was hired on a labour contract to do formwork, stripping the site. They were mid-clean up when the incident happened, he said.
Rice said on June 5 he was standing on some shoring when he slipped and fell approximately three to four feet onto a piece of rebar. He asked one of his employees to cut him loose from the footing, leaving two feet of rebar, so the paramedics wouldn't have to do it.
It took approximately four hours from his fall to when Rice was on the operating table at Vancouver General Hospital, he said. It was only once they began the operation that the rebar in Rice's face was fully removed.
"While they were waiting for the air ambulance crew, they looked at some options. Whether or not to cut the rebar... I discussed it with the firefighters and told them I thought it was better to leave it long so it was easier to stabilize," Rice said.
Following the surgery, Rice was given an antibiotic IV because of the risk of bone infection. After around 72 hours, Rice was released from the hospital.
Now, several weeks later, his face has minimal scarring.
"They did a good job, the doctors were really good. The trauma team at VGH was amazing. All that's left is on the inside," Rice said. "Dental work, they're telling me, might take up to two years."
His lower teeth are wired together, having been loosened in the fall. He'll need a skin graft for damaged gum tissues. Minor fractures in his lower and upper jaw won't require surgery.
Rice has been back to the worksite on Third Avenue since the incident, but said he's only able to stay for about an hour a day. He said he struggles with keeping his train of thought and decision-making and has PTSD-like symptoms.
"I haven't been able to be on site for more than an hour without getting shakes and nauseous," he said.
His crew was also shaken up and some received trauma counseling from WorkSafeBC following the incident, according to Rice.
Of the conditions at the worksite, Rice said he wasn't concerned about safety any more than he normally would be.
"I don't think the owners were responsible for it happening," Rice told The Chief on July 3. "They genuinely care about my physical wellbeing. They visited me at the hospital every day I was in there. They're very nice to work with.
"It’s a dangerous job," Rice added. "I've been doing construction for over 20 years and most of that was forming. I've had to deal with pain every day of my life, always bleeding from cuts. It's dangerous work, and there're always concerns and they address them as best they can when they come up. There's nothing in the situation that I was in, there was no concern. I did not foresee that at all."
Rice agreed the conditions described in the WorkSafeBC report were accurate.
For others in the industry, Rice said, "The most important lesson is just to be aware of your surroundings at all times."
Having more people with authority on the job site would also help, Rice said, as well as having a site safety officer whose sole purpose is focused on safety. He wants to thank all the first responders and medical staff who treated him.
He hopes to be able to fully return to work soon.
