Leamington company fined $65,000 for 2022 workplace incident
A contracting company based out of Leamington has been fined $65,000 for its role in an incident that led to a workplace injury in 2022.
South Essex Fabricating Inc., of Seneca Road, is a fabricator of commercial greenhouse structures and pre-engineered buildings. The company pled guilty in a Windsor court to a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It will also pay a 25-percent victim fine surcharge.
The incident in question occurred on November 4, 2022 at a worksite in Leamington.
Three workers were repairing a section of damaged stormwater drainage pipe at a worksite. South Essex Fabricating had been contracted to build an addition to a greenhouse that the pipe serviced.
The pipe was located inside a trench. At one end of the trench, the width was just over seven feet, with a depth of just over eight feet. The width and depth of the excavation varied due to the uneven base and walls of the greenhouse.
The distance between the two ends of the pipe was approximately 23 feet. The excavated walls of the trench were cut vertically with little or no sloping, and no shoring was in place.
A worker entered the trench to repair the pipe when one of the trench walls collapsed. The collapsed portion of the trench made up a significant portion of the 23 feet cleared to repair the pipe. As a result of the collapse, the worker sustained critical injuries.
A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the company had failed to shore the walls of the trench.