Worker fatally injured by his own tractor
Jasper Wyman & Son Canada Inc., a major blueberry grower and processor in eastern Prince Edward Island, has been fined $80,000 for the death of one of its workers, according to a report.
The charge is related to the death of Carter Brent Affleck, a longtime employee who was fatally injured by his own tractor in the Lorne Valley area near Cardigan on Sept. 23, 2024, reported CBC.
On that day, Affleck, 68, was changing an attachment on his tractor when the vehicle began to move with no one in the driver’s seat. A supervisor, who had stopped to assist, found Affleck pinned beneath one of the tractor’s tyres, according to the report.
Emergency personnel responded, but Affleck was pronounced dead at the scene.
The identified cause of death was blunt force trauma to the chest.
"The inspection report identified the tractor was in poor condition with all safety circuits bypassed," said an agreed statement of facts filed in Georgetown court, as cited by CBC.
"There were no brakes or emergency brakes functioning, among other issues, and the tractor was able to move when the propulsion lever was in neutral."
In Georgetown provincial court, Wyman’s pleaded guilty to failing to properly maintain equipment used by workers, a requirement under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The company was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and a $75,000 penalty to the Workers Compensation Board (WCB), with the penalty intended to promote work-safe education.
‘Very tragic and very traumatic’
Wade Dover, the company's general manager in P.E.I., was also in court, according to the report.
"This of course is a very, very tragic matter and very traumatic to the whole Wyman's family … the employees," MacKay told Judge Nancy Orr, noted CBC.
Following the incident, the company has met with employees and offered them counselling.
The company also:
- Named the field where Affleck died in his memory.
- Hired a third party to assess its safety practices and has a new protocol of hiring third-party inspectors for equipment every two years (MacKay noted that Affleck had been the sole operator of that tractor for 12 years before it killed him).
- Hired someone to implement its workplace safety program and is in the process of hiring a safety officer.
"It's certainly positive to hear the steps the company has taken," Orr said, while noting it was a shame it took a death to make it happen, according to the report.
"When we have a fatality, [as] in this case, there is no value we can put on a loss of life."
Meanwhile, the WCB is also working with the company to “enhance their required occupational health and safety program," the agency told CBC.
“It’s important to note that in P.E.I., workers have the legal right to refuse unsafe work, including in situations involving dangerous equipment."
