Being involved in a mining accident can be a traumatic event that leads to long-term disability and struggle. Mining injuries include a wide range of physical and mental effects that can have a huge negative impact on the miner and their family, including a huge exposure to diseases that have long-term impacts. TSF Law is a personal injury firm that proudly represents miners across Canada; we have Northern Ontarian lawyers who have successfully represented many victims in the mining sector and have successfully won many cases of negligence.
Common Mining Injuries & Mining Accidents
Mining requires a lot of physical labour and mental adjustment to unassuming work environments with low visibility, confined spaces, and toxic exposure.
The most common mining injuries are acquired from bodily reactions and exertion.
This can be a due to:
- excessive physical effort and overexertion (lifting, pulling, pushing, carrying or turning objects)
- repetitive motion that results in stress or strain on the body (bending, climbing, crawling, reaching, twisting, slipping, tripping)
- assuming unnatural positions for long periods of time (such as for the accommodation of low ceiling height)
- free bodily motion that results in stress or strain on the body
Occupational disease continues to be the leading cause of illness and death to those in the mining industry, according to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)
Exposure to gasses and dust can lead to immediate (known as acute) and long-term health effects that can have detrimental effects. Before any work is carried out by miners, it is the employers duty to evaluate the risk of exposure before any work is performed
Examples of occupational disease in mining, according to the Ontario Ministry of Labour, include:
- asbestosis, mesothelioma
- silicosis
- lung cancer (gold mining, coke oven)
- nasal cancer (nickel)
- gastro-intestinal cancer
- other cancers
- chronic obstructive lung disease (sulfur dioxide)
- emphysema
- skin diseases
Other common events resulting in mining injury or illness include:
- struck by an object
- caught in, crushed, or compressed by equipment, objects, or collapsing material
- abraded by friction or pressure
- falls or jumps to lower levels
- falls on same level
- highway accidents and non-highway accidents (coal truck accidents)
- contact with extreme temperatures
- exposure to air pressure changes
- exposure to harmful, noxious or allergenic substances (ex. methane, coal dust)
- exposure to radiation
- explosions / blasting accidents
- traumatic events
- electrocutions
- mining collapse (including ceiling collapse, roof collapse, coal stockpile collapse)
- longwall accidents
- violation of mining laws and labour standards
In all of these scenarios, one can be seriously injured or acquire diseases leading to long-term disability and at times, even death. Because of regular exposure to airborne dust and hazards, minors are at an increased risk for respiratory diseases such as pneumoconioses, which include coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (commonly refereed to as black lung), and silicosis. Minors are also susceptible to:
- burn injuries (including chemical burns)
- crush injuries
- head injuries
- spinal cord injuries
- neck injuries
- whole-body vibration
- musculoskeletal disorders
- reproductive damage
- vision impairment
- digestive damage
- cardiovascular changes and damage
- cancer
- head stroke
- respiratory distress
- systemic poisoning
- wrongful death
- PTSD
Workplace Negligence
Experience of an unsafe workplace is more common than one would like to acknowledge in the mining sector. It is important that employers make health and safety of workers their primary priority; having the proper safety equipment and protocols, as well as enforcement of uniforms and protective gear can save lives. Negligence of such can lead to an increase injury and wrongful death.
Contacting a Lawyer
If you or a loved one have sustained a mining injury or have been involved in a mining accident, contact TSF Law; we are one of Ontario’s top leading personal injury and disability lawyers servicing the mining sector. Our firm offers free consultations in person or over the phone, and have proudly represented many miners in Northern Ontario. We offer immediate services to those involved in a mining accident, those seeking full benefit coverage, disability insurance, as well as damages and compensation as a result of a mining accident or mining injury. Contact us today; we are always there for you.
