Double-door frame fell on worker
A Nanaimo construction employer has been hit with a $21,880.81 penalty after a worker was fatally injured when a double-door frame fell on them at a mixed-use building site, according to WorkSafeBC.
WorkSafeBC says Muchalat Projects Ltd. was installing heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at the Nanaimo work site when “a double-door frame fell on a worker, who sustained fatal injuries.” The administrative penalty was imposed on Nov. 20, 2025, and the case is listed under the construction sector classification unit “Industrial, Commercial, Institutional or Highrise Residential General Contracting or Construction.”
The provincial safety regulator attended the site after the incident and found significant gaps in the employer’s health and safety practices on the day of the fatality. Investigators determined that the firm “had not provided a site-specific safety orientation prior to beginning work nor had the worker been adequately supervised.”
Investigation findings
WorkSafeBC also found that “no documented hazard identification or risk assessment had been conducted on the day of the incident.” The absence of formal hazard identification and risk controls was a key factor in the enforcement action.
In its findings, WorkSafeBC concluded that the employer did not meet its obligations to ensure workers were properly informed, trained and overseen for the tasks they were performing. “The firm failed provide its workers with the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure their health and safety, a high-risk violation,” the regulator stated.
The violation was classified as high risk, a designation reserved for failures that create a substantial likelihood of serious injury or death. WorkSafeBC’s November 20, 2025 update on the case underscores that employers on complex construction projects must carry out and document site-specific orientation and hazard assessments before work begins and as conditions change.
Muchalat Projects Ltd.’s penalty remains recorded at $21,880.81 in WorkSafeBC’s enforcement records as of the latest update.
