A Toronto-based contractor has been fined $150,000 after a worker fell 13 storeys at a Hamilton, Ont. restoration project in October of 2018.
Welldone Inc. faces the fine plus the customary victim surcharge after pleading guilty Oct. 1 to providing inadequate fall protection.
Two workers were present at the time of the incident. They were on the roof of a residential building taking measurements prior to the set-up of a swing stage that would then carry out balcony restoration work. Neither was wearing fall protection equipment and no guardrail was present.
According to the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, one worker held a measuring tape while the other took the other end and walked toward the end of the building.
“The worker on hands and knees saw the measuring device continue beyond the expected distance and yelled for the co-worker to stop. At that point, the co-worker screamed while falling off the edge of the building,” the ministry said in a release.
The regional coroner pronounced the worker dead on-site.
