'They could have the decency to apologize'
The family of a worker in British Columbia who was killed in the workplace is criticizing the way the employer has responded to the incident.
The incident happened in December 2022, when Bill Sherstobitoff – a forklift operator – died after a stack of pallets fell on him at work in Richmond.
Sherstobitoff was taking down a row of six loaded pallets of boxes that reached over six metres. The worker then left to chat with a coworker. Before the worker could reach the vehicle on his way back, a bundle of two pallets fell on him.
WorkSafeBC fined The employer – the Great Little Box Company (GLBC) – over $290,000, according to a CBC report.
However, the company has not made enough of an effort to make things right, according to Karen Sherst, sister of the worker.
"They could have the decency to apologize and say, 'We were wrong. We should have been safer. We should have done this or that, and we're very sorry. We are responsible for this,'" Sherst said, acording to CBC.
However, the company only reached out after Sherst sent a letter requesting an apology almost two years after the death, according to the report, citing those closest to Sherstobitoff.
An apology from the company would show that it was taking the onus on itself for the deficiencies that led to the death, said Sherst and Sherstobitoff's wife, Julia Thomas, according to the report.
Christmas party after worker’s death
However, the only communication the family had received from the company in the wake of Sherstobitoff's death was an invite to the company's Christmas party shortly after the incident. At that party, GLBC said it would pay tribute to the forklift operator.
That’s something Thomas could not accept.
"I was just so angry. Just, all I kept thinking was, 'I want them to go under. I want them to go out of business,'" she said, according to the report.
The CBC report noted that there were at least six documented incidents – including one where a fallen pallet "clipped" a forklift operator – within the three years prior to Sherstobitoff’s death in 2022.
Also, the supervision of product stacking and unstacking at the facility was not adequately provided, and there was no appropriate training documentation regarding stacking and unstacking loaded pallets.
Last month, Brad Tindall, president of GLBA, said that the day that Sherstobitoff died was "unquestionably the worst day of our lives."
"I only share this with you in the hope that if you have any doubt of our taking ownership, we take full ownership of everything found in the WorkSafeBC report," Tindall said in a letter addressed to Thomas, which Sherstobitoff ‘s wife shared with CBC.
"Every accident is preventable, and as the leaders of the company, we are responsible for what occurred at our workplace."
