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Our goal is to help our clients avoid accidents - and prosecution - in the most cost-effective way possible.
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David Myrol, Partner
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McLennan Ross
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New record OHS fine in Alberta: $300,000! |
| 20-Oct-06 |
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OH&S News
by David Myrol
On Friday, October 20, 2006, H & H Stucco & Siding Ltd. was fined a record setting $300,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $45,000. This is one of the first fines imposed in Alberta since the maximum fines were increased on December 4, 2002. The case marks a major turning point in sentences imposed under the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act.
H & H Stucco & Siding Ltd. plead guilty to one count of failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker pursuant to section 2(1)(a) of the OHS Act. The case involved the death of a worker who fell from a fourth floor balcony while helping to install aluminum soffits on a condominium construction project in Edmonton. The worker fell from an unguarded balcony while attempting to hand some soffits to an installer located in a scissor-lift near the balcony. The deceased worker normally delivered the soffits by tying them to a rope and having the worker in the scissor-lift raise them by pulling the rope. However, for some reason the worker walked the soffits to the fourth floor and handed them to the installer and in the process fell from the unguarded balcony.
Fall protection was available at the work site but not used. It was only a few feet away. The deceased worker was also the nephew of the two directors of H & H Stucco. The company was bankrupt and unrepresented by legal counsel at the time of the sentencing.
Her Honour Judge Johnson of the Alberta Provincial Court imposed the record sentence after carefully reviewing the law in the area - including previous cases and legislative changes. In sentencing H & H Stucco, she concluded that the increase in maximum fines in late 2002 was a clear signal from the Legislature that the range of acceptable fines should be raised accordingly. (The highest previous fine in Alberta was $150,000 + $22,500 victim fine surcharge. See: R. v. South Rock).
In 2002, the Alberta Legislature increased the maximum fines for first offences under the OHS Act from $150,000 to $500,000. For subsequent offences the maximum fines were increased from $300,000 to $1,000,000. In addition to a fine, an individual can also be imprisoned for up to six and 12 months, respectively. No one in Alberta has ever gone to jail for violating the OHS Act but they have in other jurisdictions.
No appeal is expected.
This update is a general overview of the subject matter and cannot be regarded as legal advice. Please contact Dave Myrol at dmyrol@mross.com, or any member of our Occupational Health & Safety Law Practice Group for legal advice on this or any other occupational health & safety law topic. |
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