Worker falls 10 feet to the ground after guardrail gives way
Ontario construction firm Cachet Homes Corp. has been fined $50,000 after one of its workers suffered critical injuries in the workplace.
Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Kitchener, the employer was also ordered to pay a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
The incident occurred on March 3, 2023, while Cachet Homes was building a new subdivision with 205 detached and freehold townhomes. The company had hired a subcontractor to install insulation in various homes.
On the day of the incident, the subcontractor assigned one of its workers to insulate a wood-framed home on Camwest Lot 117.
To reach above the foyer, the worker began setting up a temporary platform. While doing so, the worker leaned on a wooden guardrail system that had been installed earlier—possibly by another subcontractor, according to the Ontario government.
The guardrail gave way, and the worker fell nearly 10 feet to the floor below, sustaining critical injuries.
An investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development found that the wooden guardrail system—installed during the framing of the house—was not securely fastened to the posts.
“The company failed, as a constructor, to ensure that a wooden guardrail system was securely fastened, as required by section 26.3(7) of Ontario Regulation 213/91, contrary section 23(1)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA),” said the Ontario government.
Section 26.3(7) states that a guardrail system that meets the requirements of this section shall be used if a worker has access to the perimeter or an open side of any of the following work surfaces and may be exposed to a fall of 2.4 metres or more:
- A floor, including the floor of a mezzanine or balcony.
- The surface of a bridge.
- A roof while formwork is in place.
- A scaffold platform or other work platform, runway, or ramp.
Meanwhile, section 23(1)(a) of the OHSA states that a constructor shall ensure, on a project undertaken by the constructor, that the measures and procedures prescribed by this Act and the regulations are carried out on the project.
