Grocery Retailer Fined $80,000 After Worker Injured
May 3, 2010 2:00 PM
Toronto, Ont. - Sobeys Capital Incorporated was fined $80,000 on April 28 for a violation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) after a worker was injured at its store at 197 Front St. in Toronto.
On October 10, 2008, a worker was using a small forklift to unload skids of ice cream from a truck trailer that was parked at the store's loading dock. The worker used a dock bridge, a metal plate attached to the dock floor, to span the gap between the dock and the trailer. When the worker drove the forklift across the dock bridge, it bounced and came to rest 15 cm above the trailer bed. The worker picked up a skid of ice cream with the forklift. While reversing out of the trailer, the worker's leg became jammed between the forklift and raised dock plate and was broken.
A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the dock bridge had not been installed according to the manufacturer's instructions or properly maintained.
Sobeys Capital Incorporated pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that its dock bridge was maintained in good condition.
The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Joanna T. Opalinski. 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
60 Queen St. W., Courtroom C
Toronto, Ont.
Judge: Justice of the Peace Joanna T. Opalinski
Date of Conviction: April 28, 2010
Defendant: Sobeys Capital Incorporated
Matter: Occupational Health and Safety
Conviction: OHSA, Section 25(1)(b)
Contacts
- Matt Blajer
Communications Branch
416-326-7405
Ministry of Labour
ontario.ca/labour