Employee suffers severe lacerations
Two Manitoba employers have been fined a total of $55,000 after their workers suffered injuries in separate workplace incidents.
Frontier School Division in the settlement of Moose Lake has been tasked to pay $30,000 for a December 12, 2019, incident when one of its workers was pushing wood through an unguarded table saw. During this process, their left hand came into contact with the rotating blade, resulting in severe lacerations.
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On July 26, Frontier School Division pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that a machine is equipped with appropriate safeguards to prevent a worker from coming into contact with the points of the machine at which material is cut.
“Manitoba Labour, Consumer Protection and Government Services is reminding employers to ensure that machines in the workplace are equipped with appropriate safeguards after an employer was prosecuted for violating the Workplace Safety and Health Act,” according to the provincial government.
Meanwhile, Excel-7 Ltd. was fined $25,000 for a December 11, 2019, incident. On that day, one of its workers was replacing concrete slabs with a fabricated lifting device in the suspended floor of a hog barn in the Rural Municipality of Oakview.
While the worker was lifting a 700-pound concrete slab, a cable on one end of the lifting device failed. This caused the slab to fall several feet below floor level and swing from one end.
The slab struck and crushed the worker’s thumb between the slab and the lifting device. The other cable, which pinned the worker’s leg against the side of the pit, had to be cut to free the worker.
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The incident was not reported to the Workplace Safety and Health Branch until two days after it occurred, according to the Manitoba government.
Excel-7 Ltd. pleaded guilty to failing to immediately, and by the fastest means of communication available, notify the Workplace Safety and Health Branch that a serious incident had occurred.
“Manitoba Labour, Consumer Protection and Government Services is reminding employers to immediately notify the Workplace Safety and Health Branch if a serious incident occurs after an employer was prosecuted under the Workplace Safety and Health Act and its associated regulations,” according to the provincial government.
