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Work accident

What is a work accident? It is an event that occurs at work and results in injury or illness to the workers involved.

Criteria for a work accident

In general, the event must meet these criteria.

  1. Accidental event
    An accidental event occurs suddenly and unexpectedly. It may be caused, for example, by actions that require a sustained and unusual effort on the part of the worker to perform certain tasks.

    To be recognized as a work accident, the event must occur while the worker is doing:
    • the tasks for which they are employed. The event is then said to arise out of their work. For example, a welder who is welding a piece of metal and gets a chip in their eye.
      or 
    • while the worker is doing tasks other than those they normally do, but the tasks are still related to their work. For example, a mechanic who falls while helping a coworker replace a garage sign. In this case, the event is said to occur in the course of their work. At the time of the accident, the worker must be on duty with their employer.
  2. Presence of an employment injury
    To be recognized as a work accident, the event must have resulted in an employment injury, that is, an injury or an illness diagnosed by health care professionals (dentists, nurse practitioners, physicians, optometrists). There must be a causal relationship between the accident and the injury, not just a coincidence.