INCIDENT TIMELINE — MARK HOLAND

WorkSafeBC Claim 42647461 — BCRTC OMC1 Acoustic Injury — January 12, 2026
Updated: March 13, 2026

Date

Event

Notes

JANUARY 2026 — INJURY AND INITIAL RESPONSE
Jan 12

Jan 19

Jan 22

Jan 23

Jan 25

Jan 26

Jan 27

Jan 27

Jan 28

Jan 29

Jan 29

Jan 29

First Exposure

First Symptoms

Safety Concern
Filed

First Ear Pain

Emergency #1

First Reportable
Injury

Return to Work

Safety Concern
Dismissed

Sound
Investigation

Final
Investigation

Written Exam /
Half Day

Unsafe Workplace
Report Filed

Moved from rail maintenance to Control Training Room.
Workstation 3 directly in front of 2 refrigerator-sized server
racks. Noise makes it hard to understand instruction. 10hrs per
day, 4 days a week.

Decreased effectiveness of migraine reduction program. Small,
persistent headaches. Loss of sleep.

Filed MyHSE #75625. Identified server noise as hazard at
Workstation 3. Disclosed personal vulnerability to excessive
noise. Explicitly requested servers be moved. Filed before worst
symptoms began.

First stabbing pain in left ear, lesser pain in right. Reported to
instructor. Multi-day migraines begin. Sleep loss intensifies.

Royal Columbian Hospital. 49m-10pm. Ruled out infection. No
diagnosis. Notified instructor sick day required.

First reportable workplace injury in 25 year heavy industry
career — tower rigging, 16 years CN Rail, BCRTC. Too
exhausted to attend class. Headaches and ear pain persist.

Refused Workstation 3. Must use instructor's workstation —
limited simulator access. Ears sensitized. Even 20ft from server
causes ear pain. Wearing earplugs when practicable.

Meeting with Austin Puder and Breanne Douglas. Union rep
Rabjit Bul present. Told sound levels below 85dB. Manager
stated: 'If you can't deal with some server noise, maybe you
can't work in control, as alarms reach 75dB.’ No accommodation
offered. No EFAP referral. Told to take it to WorkSafe.

Recorded sound with phone mic, then external USB condenser
mic to obtain better samples.

Brought laptop and USB condenser mic. Used Audacity to
record and analyse sound. Identified 328Hz mechanical
resonance.

Completed 3-hour written Control Operator examination — 89%
score — while symptomatic. Left at 1pm due to physical
exhaustion, headache, and ear pain after exam. Not a sick day
— exam completed. Worked on WorkSafeBC unsafe workplace
report until 10pm. Total mental and physical exhaustion.

WorkSafeBC unsafe workplace report filed January 29 — before
January 30 emergency visit and before official injury claim. Prior
notice to WorkSafeBC established before worst symptoms
began.