Worker fell approximately five metres from a roof
Ontario employer VanHeughten Contractors Inc. and its director Kyle VanHeughten, were fined a total of $117,500 after one of their workers was fatally injured in the workplace.
Following guilty pleas in provincial offences court in St. Thomas, Ontario, VanHeughten Contractors Inc. was fined $85,000 and Kyle VanHeughten was fined $32,500.
The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
The incident happened on March 4, 2022, when four workers were installing wooden roof trusses on top of framed walls at a construction project in Aylmer.
“No guardrail protection was present, nor were any of the workers wearing any other method of prescribed fall protection equipment. None of the workers were wearing any protective headwear,” noted the Ontario government.
One worker was standing on a two-by-four inch wood strapping while nailing wood with a cordless framing nailer. Suddenly, the strapping broke and the worker fell 5.08 meters from the roof.
The worker was struck by the nailer, causing fatal injuries.
“By failing to ensure that the worker was protected by a means of fall protection, VanHeughten Contractors Inc failed, as an employer, to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed under section 26.12) of Regulation 213/91 were carried out in the workplace, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” said the Ontario government.
“Kyle VanHeughten failed, as a director of VanHeughten Contractors Inc. to take all reasonable care to ensure that the corporation complied with section 26.1(2) of Regulation 213/91 contrary to Section 32(a) of the Act.”
Fall protection is a necessity in workplaces where workers have a risk of falling, according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).
“Falls are common causes of serious work related injuries and deaths. Fall protection planning can help to eliminate the hazards or control the risks associated with working near openings or at heights,” it said.
“Fall protection plans must be specific to each site where workers are at heights. There is no 'one size fits all’ plan. Requirements and equipment used will change from workplace to workplace, site to site, and job to job.”
