Toronto, ON – ECA Canada Company, a Nova Scotia company that sells and services construction drills, was fined $110,000 for violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was killed.
On August 29, 2011, at the company’s workplace in Toronto, a worker was acting as signaler for a crane unloading drill casings from a truck. Three large, cylindrical casings were stacked on the ground in pyramid formation. The bottom two casings were not chocked or wedged to prevent movement. While a fourth casing was being unloaded from the truck, the top casing in the pyramid fell between the two casings holding it up, pushing the bottom casings outward. One of those casings rolled and made contact with the fourth casing that was still suspended by the crane. The suspended casing swayed and struck the signaler, pinning the worker against the back of the truck. The worker was killed.
ECA Canada Company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the bottom row of the pyramid of casings was chocked or wedged to prevent motion.
The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace K. Dresher. 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.