Companies fined $125,000 after worker shocked servicing door

Cimco Refrigeration, a division of Toromont Industries Ltd. that manufactures and maintains refrigeration systems, was fined $95,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured. Sobeys Capital Inc., carrying on business as Sobey’s Whitby Retail Support Centre, a grocery distribution centre, was fined $30,000 in relation to the same incident.

On August 22, 2009, a worker from Cimco Refrigeration was servicing an electrically powered door at the Sobey’s Whitby Retail Support Centre. While standing on a ladder, the worker made contact with the door’s energized control panel. The worker fell from the ladder, sustaining severe head injuries and electrical burns.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the control panel was not disconnected from the power supply, locked out or tagged before the worker started service to the door.

Also, during the course of the investigation, a manager from Sobey’s asked a maintenance worker to perform a task that involved interfering with the scene of the occurrence. Sobeys Capital Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that no one interfered with or altered anything at the scene of the incident until permission to do so was given by an inspector.

Cimco Refrigeration pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the power supply to the control panel was disconnected, locked out or tagged before any work was done on or near live exposed parts of the control panel.

The fines were imposed by Justice of the Peace Tina Rotondi-Molinari. In addition to the fines, the court imposed a 25 percent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

www.ontario.ca/labour