Supporting jacks were placed on damp, soft ground
AFTT Developments, operating as Golden Pond RV Resort, has been fined $70,000, along with a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, for the death of a worker. The incident occurred Sept. 19, 2016 at the company's park and campground in Mossley, Ont., about 30 kilometres east of London.
On the day of the incident, a mobile home was being moved by workers who were using jacks to raise the structure. It was being raised high enough to allow the workers to slide steel beams under the undercarriage. The workers had raised the structure about 9 inches when it began to shift and fell off the jacks. One worker was able to roll out from underneath but the structure came down on another worker, who was pinned before being able to get out of the way.
The worker was taken to hospital and succumbed to the injuries the next day.
The Ministry of Labour investigation determined that the soil on which the blocks supporting the jacks were placed was damp and soft, increasing the instability of the structure, and the jacks were lifted too high, which made the mobile home unstable on the jacks. The mobile home was not adequately braced to prevent movement that may affect its stability and cause it to shift and collapse.
Section 31(1)(b) of the Construction Projects Regulation (Regulation 213/91) prescribes that every part of a project, including a temporary structure, shall be adequately braced to prevent any movement that may affect its stability or cause its failure or collapse.
Golden Pond failed to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by the regulation were complied with, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This is an offence pursuant to section 66(1) of the act.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Labour
