Employer fined for workplace injury...
An employer has been convicted and fined following a workplace accident which injured one of its employees.
The worker was using a hoist to lift materials in to place on a construction site when the materials became stuck. He walked under the hoist and materials to seek help. While he was doing so the materials fell and he was knocked over. He then fell down to the next level of the building.
The employer was fined $30,000 and ordered to pay $25,000 reparation to the victim.
The employer had failed to ensure that employees were properly trained in the operation of its machinery and had failed to put in place an exclusion zone under the hoist and materials during lifting.
It is important that employers assess all the risks and put in place procedures to keep everyone safe in the workplace. Simple rules were not in place that could have prevented the injuries suffered in this incident.