Shaunavon company fined $112K in connection with worker’s death

A Shaunavon company has been fined a total of $112,000 in connection with a workplace death in November of 2021.

Earlier this month, Bench Hutterian Brethren Corp., pleaded guilty in Shaunavon Provincial Court to two violations of occupational health and safety regulations.

According to the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, the incident happened Nov. 25, 2021 at a work site near Shaunavon. In a release, the ministry said a worker was fatally injured after the work platform they were standing on fell 25 feet from the forks of a telehandler.

The ministry said the company was fined $40,000 with a surcharge of $16,000 for failing to ensure “that only trained operators are required or permitted to operate powered mobile equipment, resulting in the death of a worker.”

It was fined the same amount for failing to make sure “that a work platform mounted on a forklift on which a worker may be raised or lowered or required or permitted to work is securely attached to the forks of the forklift to prevent accidental lateral or vertical movement of the platform, resulting in the death of a worker.”

Saskatoon company fined after worker hurt

The ministry also reported a Saskatoon construction company was fined a total of $30,000 in the wake of a worker’s injury in October of 2020.

According to the ministry, a worker was seriously hurt when they fell more than four metres while helping install a tarp over a scaffold on Oct. 16, 2020.

D’Amani Stucco Solutions Inc. pleaded guilty in Saskatoon Provincial Court to one count under occupational health and safety regulations to protect “the health, safety and welfare at work of the employer’s workers.” The court imposed a fine of $21,428.57 with a $8,571.43 surcharge.