ABSTRACT
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22.1 Introduction The number of global job-related accidents and injuries is on the rise likely due to rapid industrialization in several developing countries (ILO 2005). Each year there are some 268 million nonfatal workplace accidents where the victims miss at least 3 days of work. The International Labour Organization (ILO) has also estimated that workplace accidents and illnesses are responsible for 4% loss in global gross domestic product (GDP). The problems of accidents and injuries are too common in all jurisdictions. Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States reported a total of 4.3 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2004 (BLS 2005). These cases occurred at a rate of 4.8 cases=100 equivalent full-time workers (BLS 2005). Goods producing industries as a whole had an injury and illness rate of 6.5 cases=100
equivalent full-time workers, while this number for the service industry was 4.2 cases=100 full-time workers. On the Canadian scene, though up-to-date statistics are not readily available, an average of slightly less than 1,000,000 occupational injuries have been reported each year between 1970 and 1997. Considering the total population of 30 million, it represented a significant portion of the total population.
