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WorkSafeBC recommends penalties in excavation death
Supporting document
- Incident Investigation Report (PDF 2mb)
Richmond, B.C., December 1, 2006 — WorkSafeBC is recommending penalties against four employers as a result of a workplace death that occurred at a Surrey construction site on December 16, 2005. The fatally injured worker was killed when an excavation he was working in collapsed and covered him with dirt. The incident took place on the worker’s first day of work.
“This was a preventable death,” said WorkSafeBC vice-president of Investigations, Roberta Ellis. “We know that excavations are high risk activities and our investigation found that there was no attempt to use proper safety equipment as required by the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation.”
The general contractor was James H. Hughes (doing business as Alden Contracting Ltd.) who was under contract to a developer — a numbered company (677401 BC Ltd.) — to install water and storm sewer pipes to accommodate the development of a 50-unit residential building at 10289 -133rd Street in Surrey, British Columbia. The City of Surrey, as owner of the street, was determined to be the prime contractor of this worksite as per requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation.
The key findings of the investigation include:
- Lack of shoring and/or sloping equipment;
- The shoring cages at the site — even if used — would not have been adequate for the depth of the excavation;
- The prime contractor, general contractor, the engineer of record, and the developer did not conduct any safety audits or inspections of the worksite to prevent the development of unsafe conditions and to ensure proper supervision;
- There was no health and safety coordinator at the site to address health and safety issues;
- One worker at the site had made several complaints to a Labour Ready Temporary Services Counter Services representative (agency providing day labour for this construction site) about unsafe shoring activity, but the complaints were not passed on to decision-makers, and;
- Formal (safety) orientation and training had not been provided to the workers.
As a result of this tragedy, WorkSafeBC has recommended penalties against the City of Surrey, 677401 BC Ltd., James H. Hughes (Alden Contracting), and Hub Engineering Incorporated (the engineer of record). Penalty amounts are quantified by a formula that is based largely on the assessable payroll of the firm. In some cases, claim costs can be added to the penalty amount and in extreme cases, extraordinary penalties may be considered.
The penalties are based on orders (written directives) issued by the WorkSafeBC investigating officer and are available upon request. The investigation report (PDF 2mb) — severed as per the requirements of Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation — is available on the WorkSafeBC web site at www.worksafebc.com.
“A penalty recommendation initiates a legal process,” said Roberta Ellis. “Employers may exercise their right to provide additional evidence that may be considered before a penalty is imposed; request a review of the orders on which the penalty is based; and appeal the penalty if imposed.”
The purpose of a WorkSafeBC investigation is to determine the cause of an incident, identify lessons learned to prevent a similar injury or loss of life in the future, and to investigate for compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and Workers Compensation Act. WorkSafeBC considers penalties against employers where significant non-compliance is evident and/or where the employer has had a history of non-compliance with health and safety laws and regulations.
WorkSafeBC is an independent provincial statutory agency governed by a Board of Directors that serves nearly two million workers and about 186,000 employers. WorkSafeBC was born out of a compromise between B.C.’s workers and employers in 1917 where workers gave up the right to sue their employers and fellow workers for injuries on the job in return for a no-fault insurance program fully paid for by employers. The organization is committed to safe and healthy workplaces and to providing return-to-work rehabilitation and legislated compensation benefits.
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For more information please contact: |
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Donna Freeman
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