Employer ‘failed to take the reasonable precaution of developing a safe procedure for the servicing of a skidder wheel assembly’
K.K. Penner Tires Centers (Dryden) Inc. has been fined $55,000 after a worker was critically injured when a skidder wheel assembly exploded during inflation at a logging worksite.
The northwestern Ontario tire service company pleaded guilty to failing to take a reasonable precaution for the protection of a worker, contrary to section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The Ontario government announced the conviction in a court bulletin issued May 26, 2026 by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.
Justice of the Peace Lorelei Lindell Van Belleghem imposed the $55,000 fine in the Provincial Offences Court in Dryden on April 30, 2026. Dan Phelan acted as Crown counsel in the prosecution.
The court also ordered a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge in accordance with the Provincial Offences Act. According to the Ontario government, the surcharge is "credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime."
Incident and ministry findings
The offence occurred on July 16, 2024, at a logging operations worksite on Segwick Road in Atikokan, where a worker employed by the company had been dispatched to repair two flat tires from a skidder — a tractor used to remove cut trees and logs. The tires had already been removed from the skidder and were ready for service when the worker arrived.
The worker installed an inner tube in the second wheel and began inflating the tire. According to the bulletin, "during inflation, the wheel assembly exploded, causing critical injuries to the worker."
The ministry did not disclose the worker's name or current medical status.
A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation found that the worker was positioned within the "dangerous trajectory zone" of the wheel assembly as the tire was being inflated. The ministry determined the company "failed to take the reasonable precaution of developing a safe procedure for the servicing of a skidder wheel assembly."
The conviction was secured under section 25(2)(h) of the OHSA, the general duty provision that requires employers to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker. The provision is frequently relied upon by Ministry prosecutors where no specific regulation prescribes the work method involved in an incident.
Multi-piece and large single-piece rim assemblies used on skidders and other off-road equipment can release stored pneumatic energy with significant force if components become mis-seated during inflation. Recognized controls for the task typically include the use of a restraining device or safety cage, remote inflation with a clip-on chuck and in-line gauge, staged seating of the beads, verification of correct component matching, and keeping workers out of the trajectory zone during inflation — measures that occupational health and safety professionals are expected to incorporate into a documented safe work procedure.
The Dryden outlet sells and services a complete line-up of passenger, light truck, medium truck and off-road tires, and specializes in skidder flotation tires for the regional forestry industry.
