Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, when a worker is “critically injured” it means an injury of a serious nature that,

(a) places life in jeopardy,

(b) produces unconsciousness,

(c) results in substantial loss of blood,

(d) involves the fracture of a leg or arm but not a finger or toe,

(e) involves the amputation of a leg, arm, hand or foot but not a finger or toe,

(f) consists of burns to a major portion of the body, or

(g) causes the loss of sight in an eye.

In January 2017, the Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL) posted a clarification on the definition of a “critical injury” if it involves the fracture of a leg or arm but not a finger or toe:

The Ministry of Labour interprets the provision to include a fracture of a wrist, hand, ankle or foot – i.e. any such fracture would constitute a critical injury if it is of a serious nature. While the fracture of a single finger or single toe does not constitute a critical injury, the ministry takes the position that the fracture of more than one finger or more than one toe does constitute a critical injury if it is an injury of a serious nature.

The Ministry also further clarified a “critical injury” with regard to an Amputation:

Clause 1(e) of Regulation 834 stipulates that an injury of a serious nature is a “critical injury” if it involves the amputation of a leg, arm, hand or foot but not a finger or toe. While the amputation of a single finger or single toe does not constitute a critical injury, the ministry takes the position that the amputation of more than one finger or more than one toe does constitute a critical injury if it is an injury of a serious nature.

The MOL notice is intended to provide clarity around the application of clauses (d) and (e) of the critical injury definition. The legal definition of a critical injury set out in Regulation 834 has not changed.

If you are an employer in a workplace that is covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), you need to notify the Ministry of Labour, your workplace joint health and safety committee or health and safety representative, and the union (if there is one) when:

• someone is killed or critically injured
• one of your workers has an occupational illness
• there is an accident, explosion or fire, or there is an incident of workplace violence and someone is injured and can’t do their usual work or needs medical attention
• there is an accident or unexpected event on a construction site or in a mine or mining plant, even if no one is hurt
• you do not own the workplace and the joint health and safety committee or health and safety representative makes you aware of a potential structural inadequacy of the building that could be a hazard to workers

These requirements are in sections 51, 52, 53 and clause 25(2)(n) of the OHSA.