Construction firm, equipment operator fined after worker run over by grader

HAMILTON, Ont.—A worker injury on a road construction site in Hamilton, Ont. has resulted in fines for Dufferin Construction Co. and the owner/operator of a equipment rental business based in Stoney Creek, Ont.

CRH Canada Group, Dufferin’s parent company, and William Price, who owns Bill Price Grader Rentals, pleaded guilty to charges and were fined $90,000 and $5,000 respectively in a Hamilton courtroom last week.

The workplace accident took place during reconstruction work on the city’s Upper Sherman Avenue in October of 2016 and involved a grader operated by Price and a worker packing gravel on foot using a tamper.

According to the Ontario Ministry of Labour, the worker was tamping gravel behind the grader when Price put the vehicle in reverse. While the grader had a back-up alarm, it was not functioning properly at the time of the incident. The worker did not see or hear the approaching grader and was struck and run over by the vehicle, resulting in numerous injuries.

Price was fined for failing to maintain the grader in a way that would not endanger workers. CRH Canada, meanwhile, was fined for failing to place signs in conspicuous places warning workers of the dangers of reversing equipment, a requirement under Ontario health and safety regulations.