Paving firm fined C$70,000 after a skid steer track traps the foot of a worker steadying a torn bag
Permeable Plus, a paving and landscaping company in Kanata, Ontario, has been fined C$70,000 after a worker walking beside a moving skid steer, holding a torn bag of stone on its forks, had a foot caught under the track and was critically injured.
The company, registered as 1000537263 Ontario Inc., pleaded guilty in an Ottawa provincial offences court and was convicted Sept. 3, according to an Oct. 28 court bulletin from Ontario's labour ministry cited by Canadian Occupational Safety. The fine was set by Karen (Soloman) Baum, a justice of the peace. The court added the 25% victim fine surcharge required under Ontario's Provincial Offences Act.
On May 22, 2024, the crew was working at 4221 Moodie Drive, Ottawa. A co-worker was driving the skid steer with a bag of dry stone hanging from its forks. The bag was torn, so the injured worker walked next to the machine with a hand pressed over the tear. Their foot went under the right-side track, and the skid steer kept rolling.
Ministry investigators found that the company had not told either worker how close someone on foot could safely get to a moving skid steer. It also had not made sure the operator was properly trained on the machine. Both failures fell under section 25(2)(h) of Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act, which obliges employers to take every reasonable precaution to protect workers.
The bulletin describes the injuries only as critical and does not say whether the worker has returned to work. Ontario's maximum fine for a corporation under the act rose to C$2 million in October 2023.
Why it matters: Walking beside a loaded skid steer to steady the load is a familiar move on US jobs too. Put a no-walk distance around moving equipment in writing, train operators on it, and set the load down before anyone reaches for it.
Sources
- Paving firm fined $70,000 after skid steer track catches worker's footCanadian Occupational Safety, Oct 28