Citation

Brooks CJ, Howard KA, Neifer SK. Occup. Med. 2005.

Affiliation

Survival Systems Limited, 40 Mount Hope Avenue, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B2Y 4K9 Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/occmed/kqi063

PMID

15871996

Abstract

Background: The Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia requested a retrospective analysis of all fishermen's deaths from immersion in water in British Columbia. Aims: To identify the underlying cause of drowning and make recommendations to improve safety in the fishing industry. Method: Eighty-nine inshore and offshore fishing accidents were analysed. Where possible, deaths were classified into the four stages of cold-water immersion: cold shock, swimming failure, hypothermia and post-rescue collapse. Other factors that led up to the drowning were also identified. Results: One hundred and thirty fishermen died from immersion between 1976 and 2002. One hundred and twenty-eight drownings were certified by the coroner as drowning or drowning/hypothermia and two were certified as cardiac event after immersion. The underlying causes of drownings were reclassified as: cold shock (5.4%), swimming failure (5.4%), hypothermia (5.4%), post-rescue collapse (0.8%), cardiac event (0.8%) and drowning/other (10%). In the remaining 72.2% of deaths, there was insufficient information to determine an underlying cause. All deaths occurred in water below 17.5 degrees C but 95% were in water less than 15 degrees C. Conclusions: Immersion in water below 15 degrees C is dangerous and this should be emphasized on marine survival courses. Accident investigators, coroners and pathologists need a common checklist to record vital data. A recommended format is included as Supplementary data available at Occupational Medicine Online. Fishermen should be educated about the dangers of sudden, unexpected immersion in cold water. Consideration should be given to making marine survival courses mandatory for fishermen.