Construction company fined for worker injured in fall off second-floor townhouse balcony
By On-Site Staff
Construction Health & SafetyOAKVILLE, Ont.—An Ottawa-based construction company has been fined for a worker injury on a job site in the Toronto suburbs last year.
MC Oakvillage GP Inc. will pay a $60,000 fine, plus the province’s standard 25 per cent victim surcharge, for the incident. It happened Feb. 21, 2018 at a townhouse construction site at Dundas Street East and Trafalgar Road in Oakville, Ont.
According to the Ministry of Labour, one of the company’s workers was standing on a ladder installing aluminum siding on the roof of a second-floor balcony just before the accident. The balcony was 11-feet off the ground and guarded by a single wooden two-by-four. When stepping down the ladder, the worker grabbed by the two-by-four, it “gave way” and the worker fell off the open edge of the balcony, causing an unspecified injury.
A subsequent investigation found the guardrail system to fall short of Ontario health and safety rules. It was not securely fastened in place, relying instead on a compression fit.
The builder pleaded guilty to the violation in court July 3.
