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WorkSafeBC finds violations at site of Abbotsford construction injury

Worker sustained serious injuries on May 2 after falling into home’s basement
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A man was airlifted to hospital after being injured at a construction site in the Auguston area Tuesday morning. Kevin Macdonald photo

A WorkSafeBC inspection found several violations at an Abbotsford construction site where a worker was seriously injured earlier this month.

On May 2, a construction worker was on an inside landing in one of several houses being built in a new Auguston development when he fell through an opening on the first floor to the basement below.

He was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries. His current health is not known.

WorkSafeBC inspected the site immediately following the incident and found three different contraventions of occupational safety rules.

An inspector found the opening wasn’t guarded or covered, that there was a lack of stairs and safe access to each working level on the house, and that one partially completed stairway had no handrails. All three issues were fixed while a WorkSafeBC officer was on site.

The officer also required a full investigation to be submitted by the company within 30 days.

WorkSafeBC is also investigating, which could result in additional orders being issued. The report states that, “based upon the violations cited in this inspection report (and any previous relevant violations) WorkSafeBC has determined that there are grounds for imposing an administrative penalty and/or OHS Citation.”