The project manager who supervised the four workers who died after a swing stage scaffold collapsed on Christmas Eve, 2009, has been found guilty on four counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm. Vadim Kazenelson received the verdict today.
The court has not yet imposed his sentence.
Five parties have now been found guilty of safety-related offences as a result of this tragic accident: Metron Construction Corporation, a director of Metron, Swing N Scaff Inc., a director of Swing N Scaff Inc. (all of which received fines), and Mr. Kazenelson.
As we previously reported, the total of safety fines imposed for the December 24, 2009 swing stage collapse fatalities is $1,240,000.
According to the Ministry of Labour, at least six workers were on the swing stage suspended 13 floors above the ground when it broke apart in the middle and collapsed. Ministry of Labour investigators found that the welds on the platform were inadequate. Tragically, four workers died.
Swing N Scaff Inc., the company that supplied the swing stage platform (a suspended work platform), had previously pleaded guilty to the Occupational Health and Safety Act offence of failing to ensure that a suspended platform and/or a component supplied to Metron Construction Corporation was in good condition. It was fined $350,000.00.
The director of Swing N Scaff Inc. had previously pleaded guilty to failing to take all reasonable care to ensure a suspended platform was in good condition and that a platform weighing more than 525 kilograms was designed by a professional engineer in accordance with good engineering practice. He was fined $50,000.00 under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Previously, Metron Construction Corporation was fined $750,000.00 for criminal negligence under the "Bill C-45″ amendments to the Criminal Code; that amount was increased on appeal from the $200,000.00 fine set by the trial justice.
A director of Metron Construction Corporation was previously fined $90,000.00 under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to ensure that non-English speaking workers received written material in their native languages and failing to ensure that training records were maintained; failing to ensure that the swing stage was not defective or hazardous (by allowing it to be used without having received any of the required information with respect to its capacity and use); and failing to ensure that the swing stage was not loaded in excess of the load that the platform was designed and constructed to bear.
For more information, visit our Occupational Health & Safety Law blog at www.occupationalhealthandsafetylaw.com
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