Worker was severely injured in fabrication factory
An Alberta road construction company is facing a dozen workplace safety charges nearly two years after a worker was crushed by a steel guardrail structure in its fabrication shop, suffering life-altering injuries.
Roadside Supply Ltd., based in Ardrossan, Alta., about 20 kilometres east of Edmonton, has been charged under Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act in connection with an April 2024 incident involving worker Cody Gogol, reported CBC.
The injured worker and members of the company’s leadership have known each other for years and attended school together, and one manager said he had even been a groomsman at Gogol’s wedding and considered him “part of our family,” according to the report.
According to the transcript of a Workers’ Compensation Board of Alberta (WCB) video, the work involved pedestrian bridge rails in Red Deer that go over a river. The rails were about 20 feet long and described as “bulky.”
Gogol recounted that he was working with the rails when the load shifted unexpectedly. He said he removed a clamp before the slings had been tightened and the assembly began to fall towards him. He tried to stop it but “it ended up squishing me against some handrails we had done.”
Guardrail shift caused catastrophic injuries
According to court records cited by CBC News, Gogol was working inside the company’s welding and fabrication shop when a guardrail structure weighing more than 907 kilograms — about 2,000 pounds — shifted and struck him in the face. CBC reports that the impact caused catastrophic injuries to his neck, skull, teeth and one eye.
In the WCB video highlighted by CBC, Gogol said the force of the guardrail “fractured his skull, crushed his teeth and dissected his carotid artery.” The carotid artery runs along the neck and supplies blood and oxygen to the brain. CBC reports that he suffered a traumatic brain injury, hearing damage, extensive dental damage and loss of vision in one eye.
A WCB representative featured in the video said Gogol had sustained “very significant head trauma,” including “lots of fractures in the skull,” damage to his ear canal and loss of sight in one eye, and that she had not expected him to be able to return to work quickly, “if at all.”
Alleged safety and reporting violations
On Jan. 17, 12 charges were laid against Roadside Supply Ltd. The charge documents, as reported by CBC, allege the company failed to ensure Gogol’s safety by using improper rigging and makeshift clamps, and by failing to implement other required measures to protect workers from being trapped or struck by equipment.
The company also faces charges related to its conduct after the incident. Investigators allege Roadside Supply failed to report the serious injury “as soon as possible” and did not ensure that the scene of the incident remained undisturbed before officials arrived, according to CBC.
One colleague described the immediate aftermath as chaotic and emotionally devastating, saying that when he first heard about the incident his reaction was to ask, “oh my god, is Cody alive?” and that the event “shook our lives and changed our lives forever.”
Return-to-work plan and modified duties
According to the WCB video, Gogol returned to work at Roadside Supply less than a year after the incident, performing modified duties.
The WCB case manager said Gogol had numerous appointments with specialists, including hearing and vision tests, and described his attitude as “really, really remarkable,” noting that he was “just willing to try, put his all into everything that he did,” which contributed to “a really successful outcome as a result.”
She said the return-to-work process involved discussing how to bring him back “starting mainly with limited work days and hours, and as well responsibilities and non-critical tasks,” and that a joint planning discussion was held to talk about his limitations, abilities and to “build the plan together, with Cody being a huge part of that.”
Gogol said that, with help from company leaders Grant and Lloyd, his duties were “very modified” when he first came back, involving “a lot of paperwork, a lot of reading about safety procedures.” He said he was moved into an office role to transition him into a supervisor position “versus just being on the tools,” and that the company had been “super accommodating” in that process.
He added that the company hired a couple of workers to report to him so he could focus on training, and a colleague remarked that “you can't even tell this day out there in the shop that he was in hurt,” calling the recovery “pretty remarkable.”
Gogol said maintaining a positive outlook was key to his recovery, advising others to “try and keep a sense of humour about it,” and to avoid dwelling on the incident because “there’s no good that can come from that,” while also urging people not to take anything for granted because “you never know when something will change.”
Company response and next court date
Company co-owner Grant Duma declined to comment on the specific allegations, telling CBC the case remains in its preliminary stages. He said the company continues to work closely with Gogol and that the staff were devastated by what happened.
“We can't say much about the case at this point but it's been a tough time for us all,” Duma told CBC News. “He’s a close family friend.”
The company is scheduled to make its first court appearance on 12 March in the Alberta Court of Justice in Sherwood Park, Alta.
