Worker suffered serious injuries in 2019 incident at Toronto building
The Ontario Court of Justice fined United Hoist $100,000 and ordered the Bolton-based company to pay a $25,000 victim surcharge in relation to an incident in October 2019.
A worker was seriously injured at a Toronto building when he tried to exit a construction hoist elevator and became pinned between the ninth-floor landing and the elevator doors because it had moved downward with the doors still open.
The Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) investigated the incident and says United Hoist performed regular maintenance on the elevator, “but some of the maintenance was not performed as per the manufacturer’s requirements.” It also says the top and bottom elevator brakes were not up to code for personnel hoists.
In addition, one worker who performed maintenance on the elevator prior to the incident didn’t have the required training certificates to do the job.
United Hoist pleaded guilty to two charges, one for allowing the elevator to operate in an unsafe condition, and another for failing to take every reasonable precaution to ensure employees have the necessary authorization to perform work on a elevating device. Both of these are contrary to Ontario Regulation 209/01: Elevating Devices.
“Elevator contractors must be held accountable when they allow an elevator to be operated without ensuring the proper maintenance is performed by certified elevator mechanics,” says Roger Neate, director, elevating and amusement devices safety program with TSSA. “It’s very unfortunate that an individual was harmed because critical safety regulations weren’t followed with diligence.”
United Hoist has volunteered to participate in TSSA’s Compliance Support Program and work to address non-compliance issues while developing a safety strategy.
