Vaughan company fined $75,000 for on-site fall
A Vaughan company has been fined for its role in a workplace accident that led to critical injuries to a worker.
Westdale Construction Co. Limited pled guilty in a Toronto court to charges relating to a violation of section 25 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The company will pay a $75,000-fine, plus a 25-percent victim fine surcharge.
The incident occurred on a high-rise residential apartment building on Cambridge Road in Toronto. The building is also owned by Westdale Construction.
A company contracted to Westdale dispatched a worker to the building site to perform HVAC maintenance work on November 12, 2021.
The area on the main floor of the building had had recent demolition work done for the purpose of renovation. The room had dust and debris on the floor from the demolition process.
The floor closest to the door was concrete, but approximately half-way across the room there was a transition to what was a drop ceiling for a room below. That ceiling served as the “floor” for the back half of the room. The two surfaces appeared to be even with each other.
The worker was unable to turn the heat on upon entry to the work area, and began tracing wiring across the room to the back to locate the source of the problem.
The worker stepped onto a suspended ceiling panel at the back area of the room and fell approximately ten feet to the floor of the laundry room below, sustaining critical injuries.
There was a strip of yellow caution tape strung across the back of the room, but no signage to indicate why it was there. There was no signage on the door to the room or anywhere in the room warning of the fall hazards present.
An investigation by the Ministry of Labour found that the employer did not take the reasonable precaution of providing cautionary signage at appropriate locations to notify workers of the fall hazards in the work area.