Worker drowned as a result of entering a dugout on horseback
Saskatchewan employer Ramage Land & Cattle Company has been fined $25,000 after one of its workers died in the workplace.
The incident occurred on Aug. 23, 2023, near Walpole, Saskatchewan. A worker drowned as a result of entering a dugout on horseback.
In August, the employer pleaded guilty to one violation of The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020.
The company was charged with contravening clause 3-1(a) of the regulations, or being an employer, failing “to comply with the duties of an employer at a place of employment including the provision and maintenance of a plant, systems of work and working environments that ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of the employer's workers, resulting in the death of a worker,” according to the Saskatchewan government.
As a result, the Court imposed a fine of $17,857.14, along with a surcharge of $7,142.86, for a total amount of $25,000.
In addition, Ramage Land & Cattle Company Ltd. will be establishing a $4,500 scholarship through Canadian Western Agribition in honour of the deceased. Further, there will be two educational articles published, including:
- an article in the Western Producer detailing the case, the lessons learned, the steps taken, and the resources available for the agricultural sector; and
- a legal article detailing the case, the charges, and the resolution on the Law Society of Saskatchewan and Trial Lawyers Association websites.
