The victim was reportedly not given proper training to handle the equipment
A supervisor from a Toronto-based company was handed a $20,000 fine following a workplace fatality in March 2020.
The said victim, hired as a subcontractor, was operating an elevating work platform (EWP) after he was tasked to install refrigeration panels for a walk-in, cold storage room in the workplace.
Left alone to work, the said employee activated the EVP joystick for elevation but was trapped between an overhead beam and the platform’s guardrail near the control box when it continued to rise.
He received "crushing injuries" due to the incident, according to a media release from the Ontario government, before eventually succumbing to his injuries when he was unable to free himself.
The probe on the incident found that the employee's supervisor failed to ensure that the employee had with him protective devices and that he also complied with the safety measures and procedures on operating the EWP as required by the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
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According to the release, the employer failed to provide training as well as oral and written instructions on how to operate and EWP.
"This is an offence under s. 27(1)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and, in particular, s. 147(1) of Regulation 213/91," read the government's media release.
The supervisor made a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Toronto and was slapped with a $20,000 fine.
In addition, the court further ordered a 25% victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. This surcharge will be credited to a special provincial government fund that will assist victims of crime.
