The employer of the injured worker, not the owner of the workplace, was required to report the worker's injury, the B.C. Court of Appeal has held, in a decision that clarifies employers' accident reporting obligations.
The worker was injured while working on a powerline owned by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority. The worker worked for a contractor to B.C. Hydro.
The Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia issued an order citing B.C. Hydro for failing to report the accident. The order referred to section 172(1)(a) of the Workers Compensation Act, which provides:
"An employer must immediately notify the Board of the occurrence of any accident that (a) resulted in serious injury to or the death of a worker".
B.C. Hydro argued that it was not the worker's "employer". The Board maintained that the reporting obligation applied to "an employer" – not just the employer of the injured worker. "An employer", said the Board, should include the owner of the worksite because it had a significant connection to the worksite and was in the best position to provide the timeliest notification to the Board.
The court decided that the Board's decision was unreasonable. B.C. Hydro was not legally required to report the accident to the Board. The Act did not impose a duty on owners to report accidents. Further, requiring owners to report accidents under s. 172(1)(a) would effectively require owners to carry out other obligations of "employers" under the Act including investigating the accident, preparing an accident report, and taking corrective actions. The legislature could not have intended to impose all of those obligations on owners.
In conclusion, the worker's employer was required to report the accident to the Board, but B.C. Hydro was not.
Although the B.C. Court of Appeal did not mention the Ontario Court of Appeal's recent Blue Mountain Resorts Limiteddecision, which dealt with accident reporting obligations in Ontario, both decisions attempt to bring clarity and consistency to the government's interpretation of accident-reporting requirements.
British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority v. Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia, 2014 BCCA 353 (CanLII)
For more information, visit our Occupational Health & Safety Law blog at www.occupationalhealthandsafetylaw.com
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