Fatal fall results in $150,000 fine for Windsor, Ont. company

Worker killed after falling through skylight

Vollmer Inc., a multi-trade construction contractor in Windsor, Ont., has been fined $150,000, plus a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, after a worker was killed on a job site by a fall.

The worker fell through a skylight in a building that was having new electrical equipment installed on Nov. 3, 2016 in Windsor. The conviction for this offence took place Oct. 12, 2018 and the company pleaded guilty. 

The company was working on a project that involved installing new electrical equipment and cable for new machinery being set up in a plant. 

The worker, along with a crew, was engaged in pulling lengths of heavy electrical cable onto the roof of the plant. During a break, the worker was observed in an area of the roof; the crew heard a crash, saw a shattered skylight and the worker on the concrete floor directly below. The fallen worker was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.

Although the skylights still had all of their covers on them, there were no guardrails, protective coverings or other means of fall protection installed or implemented to protect workers from the danger of failing through the skylights on the roof of the project.

The Construction Projects Regulation (Ontario Regulation 213/91) requires that workers use and be trained in the use of a fall protection system when working at heights (Section 26.2(1.1).

 Source: Ontario Ministry of Labour