A Wallaceburg manufacturer is facing a hefty fine following a workplace injury.
According to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, a worker at AarKel Tool and Die was critically injured on November 20, 2022.
Investigators say the worker was using an overhead crane to fit two parts of a heavy steel automotive tool together. Once the shot block was lowered onto the carrier assembly, the worker used jackscrews under the assembly to try and secure the object from tipping. However, the jackscrews were not bolted, secured or attached to the work surface or the assembly. While the shot block was positioned on the carrier assembly, the worker pulled on it and felt it move. The lower carrier assembly then tipped and fell off the work surface, critically injuring the worker.
Provincial officials say the company failed, as an employer, to provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect the health or safety of the worker as required by section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Chatham last month, AarKel was fined $75,000. The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
