Worker's death leads to guilty plea, fine for Ontario firm
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An Ontario employer has pleaded guilty to violating the province's workplace safety legislation and has been fined 150,000 Canadian dollars ($107,775) after a worker was killed by moving equipment on a roadway.
Concord, Ontario-based Varcon Construction Co. Ltd. was working on a water main installation project when the fatal incident occurred in April 2014, according to a statement issued Wednesday by the province's Ministry of Labor.
A ministry investigation determined that an equipment operator moving a portable toilet with a front-end loader did not use the assistance of a signaler employee — despite having a restricted view — and struck, ran over and fatally injured an employee who was moving traffic cones, according to the statement.
The equipment operator either could not see or did not look in the direction of the worker or communicate with workers before moving forward, striking and fatally injuring the worker in violation of the province's Construction Projects Regulation, which requires that material or equipment at a project be moved in a manner that does not endanger a worker, according to the statement.
The court also imposed a 25% victim fine surcharge, which goes into a provincial government fund to assist victims of crime, on top of the fine, bringing the total to CA$187,500 ($134,719).
A company spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.
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