Thornhill firm fined after worker dies on job site
Apprentice not wearing safety equipment

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 12, 2014

A Thornhill company was fined in a Toronto court yesterday for failure to ensure the safety of an employee in a fatal incident.

Design Air Ltd., a Thornhill heating, ventilation and air conditioning company, was fined $70,000 after a worker was fatally injured.

On April 16, 2012, a supervisor employed by Design Air Ltd. and an apprentice prepared to repair a heating and air conditioning unit at a residential home in Toronto.

The unit was located on top of a flat roof at the rear of the residence. The apprentice was sent up to the roof to look at the equipment, while the supervisor performed other tasks.

A short time later, the apprentice was found lying on the ground at the rear of the residence, suffering fatal injuries as the result of a fall.

A Ministry of Labour investigation determined that the apprentice had fallen about nine metres and was not wearing any form of fall arrest equipment at the time of the incident.

The company pleaded guilty to failing to take reasonable precaution of ensuring that a worker was protected by a fall arrest system, as required under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and was fined $70,000 by Justice of the Peace Sunny Ng.

In addition, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge under the Provincial Offences Act, credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.