Transportation Company Fined $50,000 After Worker Seriously Injured
April 19, 2010 4:00 PM
Windsor, Ont. - Excel Heavy Haul Transportation Inc. was fined $50,000 on April 13, 2010, for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that caused a serious injury to a worker.
On April 24, 2008, at the company's facility in Tecumseh, a worker was attaching rigging to a machine so it could be lifted onto a trailer. Workers from Excel Machinery Sales, a related company, were helping. During the rigging process, a trailer was backed through an open bay door into the first worker, whose back was turned. The worker was pinned to the machine, and a protruding handle on the machine pierced the worker's leg.
A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the trailer was driven by another worker employed by Excel Heavy Haul Transportation Inc. That worker had backed the trailer into the bay without a full view of the area behind the trailer, and without the help of a signaler, or someone to guide the trailer.
Excel Heavy Haul Transportation Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the driver used a signaler to help guide the trailer into the bay.
The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Susan Hoffman. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
Court Information at a Glance
Location: Ontario Court of Justice
251 Goyeau St., Courtroom 303
Windsor, Ont.
Judge: Justice of the Peace Susan Hoffman
Date of Conviction: April 13, 2010
Defendant: Excel Heavy Haul Transportation Inc.
Matter: Occupational Health and Safety
Conviction: Ontario Regulation 851, Section 56
Crown Counsel: Jeffrey Clarke and Mike Nicol
Contacts
- Matt Blajer
Communications Branch
416-326-7405
Ministry of Labour
ontario.ca/labour