WSIB recorded 242 ladder injury claims in Ontario in 2024 — and unsecured ladders are still putting workers at risk
A London, Ont., construction worker fell eight feet from a slipping ladder toward vertical rebar that protruded from the foundation below.
The employer, J-AAR Structures Limited, pleaded guilty and must pay a $65,000 fine.
The company was convicted on September 3, 2026, in the Provincial Offences Court in London. The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development announced the outcome on October 7, 2026.
Steel below the formwork
The fall took place on September 6, 2024, at a construction project at 110 Waterloo Street in London. The worker was using a ladder to reach the interior work platform of concrete formwork for a new stairwell in a parking garage.
The ladder had been set against a concrete wall form, and it slipped while the worker approached the top. The worker fell around eight feet toward the rebar and was injured upon landing.
A ministry investigation found that the protruding rebar had not been covered or protected to reduce the protrusion hazard.
Close to two years passed between the September 2024 fall and the September 2026 conviction.
The rule on protruding steel
According to the ministry, J-AAR Structures failed to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by section 36 of Ontario Regulation 213/91 (Construction Projects) were carried out.
Section 36 applies to formwork ties, reinforcing steel, nails and other objects that protrude from concrete or another surface and may endanger a worker. Under the provision, such a protrusion must be removed, cut off at the surface or otherwise protected as soon as practicable.
The same regulation sets out rules for portable ladders, although the ministry’s bulletin does not cite them in this case. A portable ladder used for access between levels must be secured at the top and bottom so it cannot move. A non-self-supporting ladder that is not securely fastened must have its base set out between one-quarter and one-third of its length from the point below its top.
Ladder movement has also led to a recent prosecution in Saskatchewan. Mallard Diversified Services Inc. pleaded guilty on July 22, 2026 to failing to secure a portable ladder against accidental movement. The case resulted from a worker in Wadena falling onto a concrete floor in May 2024. The court imposed a total penalty of $8,000.
The court also imposed a 25% victim fine surcharge, which the Provincial Offences Act requires. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund that assists victims of crime.
A US benchmark for rebar guarding
In the United States, the federal OSHA concrete construction standard requires that all protruding reinforcing steel that workers could fall onto or into be guarded. This is to eliminate any impalement hazards. The standard does not prescribe a specific guarding method, and any device that eliminates the impalement hazard meets the requirement.
OSHA guidance states that fall protection is the first line of defence when employees work at any height above exposed rebar. The agency has also pointed to a warning from California contractors that mushroom-style plastic caps do not eliminate the impalement hazard.
Counting the cost of ladder falls
In Ontario, the WSIB recorded 242 injury claims linked to ladder incidents in 2024, resulting in an average of 29 lost work days per person. The figures cover only accepted WSIB claims.
Falls of a few feet have also led to penalties in Ontario this year. In May 2025, a worker at Ideal Supply Inc.’s Listowel warehouse left a ladder’s rungs too early on the way down and fell about four feet. The company was fined $70,000 for failing to provide adequate information, instruction and supervision on safe ladder use.
Inspectors in the field
The ministry’s most recent compliance campaign on falls in residential construction involved 6,978 field visits to 4,974 workplaces, and inspectors issued 23,421 orders and requirements. Inspectors reported that workers at some projects were not wearing and using fall protection equipment where required.
Another Ontario parking garage project led to convictions under Ontario Regulation 213/91 this year. Constructor Fieldgate Construction Management Inc. and Metro Concrete Works [2016] Inc. were fined $55,000 and $30,000, respectively, on Aug. 28, 2026. The penalties followed an incident in which workers were exposed to elevated carbon monoxide during concrete finishing at a Toronto garage.
Lessons for the job site
The conviction is a reminder that protruding rebar and unsecured ladders remain active enforcement priorities for the Ministry of Labour. Employers working on concrete formwork projects in Ontario should audit their sites against section 36 of Ontario Regulation 213/91. Pay close attention to protrusion protection and portable ladder securement procedures before an inspector does it for them.
