‘These were all high-risk violations’
A ski resort in British Columbia has been fined $78,369.61 following a serious workplace incident in which an employee was severely injured.
While the worker was installing signage in a parking lot using a utility vehicle.
The employee accidentally reversed the vehicle over the edge of an unguarded slope at the ski resort, resulting in a rollover crash that caused serious injuries, CTV News reported, citing WorkSafeBC.
Following the incident, inspectors from WorkSafeBC determined that the ski resort failed to install curbs or guardrails at the parking lot’s edge—an essential safety feature required in areas where vehicles face the risk of running off elevated surfaces.
The safety authority also cited the lack of a rearview mirror on the utility vehicle and a failure to enforce seatbelt use among employees—both breaches of B.C.'s Occupational Health and Safety Regulation.
“These were all high-risk violations,” WorkSafeBC said, according to the CTV News report.
While WorkSafeBC did not disclose the date of the crash or the identity of the employee involved, a spokesperson told CTV News the agency's full investigation report is undergoing redaction and will eventually be available through the province’s Freedom of Information Office. Penalties, the agency added, are based on the employer’s payroll, the seriousness of the infraction, and their compliance history.
“Repeat violations can increase the size of the penalty,” Yesenia Dhott told CTV News via email. “A penalty is a regulatory tool to motivate employers to follow occupational health and safety requirements.”
