WorkSafeBC data shows the overall time-loss injury rate in British Columbia’s construction sector has fallen by 25 per cent over the past decade, alongside a 32 per cent drop in serious injury rates.

This improvement is linked to stronger safety management practices, including more effective hazard identification and management that actively involves workers, along with more proactive approaches to safety fundamentals including training, supervision, and psychological safety.

Despite the improvements, construction remains one of the highest-risk sectors in B.C. The industry is now focusing more directly on the hazards that continue to drive the most serious injuries — all of them well understood and preventable with consistent application of effective controls.

Serious injuries continue to be driven primarily by falls from heights and workers being struck by mobile equipment. Musculoskeletal injuries related to overexertion also remain common.

Based on preliminary data:

• Over the five-year period from 2021 to 2025, WorkSafeBC accepted approximately 38,000 claims (short-term, long-term and fatal) in the sector, including over 7,400 serious injury claims, 174 of which were fatal. Total claim costs exceeded $1.3 billion.
• Musculoskeletal injuries remain the most common type of injury in construction, with nearly 11,000 claims caused by overexertion and other bodily motions during that same period.
• Falls from elevation and struck-by incidents also result in significant numbers of injuries in the sector each year. From 2021 to 2025, there were nearly 5,800 injury claims related to falls from elevation and nearly 7,000 involving workers being struck by objects, equipment, or vehicles.

This pattern highlights a persistent gap between what is known about these hazards and how consistently effective controls are applied on worksites.

As many construction projects increase in scale, new challenges are emerging alongside longstanding hazards. WorkSafeBC is placing greater emphasis on large, multi-employer worksites, including major infrastructure and development projects, with a focus on cranes and mobile equipment, pre-job safety planning, prime contractor oversight and coordination, and employer responsibilities for workers and subcontractors.

WorkSafeBC said that employers play a critical role in addressing both longstanding and emerging risks by ensuring hazards are consistently identified and controlled, workers are properly trained and supervised, and health and safety systems keep pace with changing work environments.