Construction worker needs help with recovery after severe spinal injury on the job

WEST KELOWNA – Cole Bernier, a construction worker injured last week in a workplace accident, is facing a lengthy recovery after being crushed under some roof trusses.

“Cole is someone you’ll never see without a smile on his face and if he’s frowning, it is typically because you changed his music or didn’t leave enough food for him to have seconds,” Brandon Boot writes, on the gofundme campaign he set up for his friend.

Boot says Bernier has been a role model and mentor since the two met at a Kelowna CrossFit box in 2012.

“Where ever he goes, he brings with him his uplifting positive attitude and inspires those around him.”

Bernier remains in hospital with two crushed vertebrae and trauma to the spinal cord.

The young man was pinned under roof trusses that collapsed last Wednesday, Sept. 23 on a house under construction in West Kelowna.

One of his friends say he was pinned under the trusses for almosts half an hour before West Kelowna Fire Rescue managed to extract him. WorkSafe B.C. is investigating the accident.

The gofundme campaign has already raised a third of its $15,000 target.

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community? Create a free account to comment on stories, ask questions, and join meaningful discussions on our new site.

One response

  1. Yes they do….But…once they decide your finished and can either return to work or a different type of work..at whatever pay scale..your off WCB. And that is that. Even if you don,t have a job to go back to. They may give you a small compensation pension afterwards but not enough to live as you did.

Leave a Reply

John McDonald

John began life as a journalist through the Other Press, the independent student newspaper for Douglas College in New Westminster. The fluid nature of student journalism meant he was soon running the place, learning on the fly how to publish a newspaper.

It wasn’t until he moved to Kelowna he broke into the mainstream media, working for Okanagan Sunday, then the Kelowna Daily Courier and Okanagan Saturday doing news graphics and page layout. He carried on with the Kelowna Capital News, covering health and education while also working on special projects, including the design and launch of a mass market daily newspaper. After 12 years there, John rejoined the Kelowna Daily Courier as editor of the Westside Weekly, directing news coverage as the Westside became West Kelowna.

But digital media beckoned and John joined Kelowna.com as assistant editor and reporter, riding the start-up as it at first soared then went down in flames. Now John is turning dirt as city hall reporter for iNFOnews.ca where he brings his long experience to bear on the civic issues of the day.

If you have a story you think people should know about, email John at jmcdonald@infonews.ca

More Articles