Toyota Canada fined $65,000 after worker fractures arm
November 21, 2014
By Ontario Ministry of Labour
Nov. 21, 2014 – Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. has pleaded guilty and has been fined $65,000 after a worker who was caught in a moving production line suffered injuries that included arm fractures.
On Oct. 1, 2013, a worker at the company’s assembly plant at 1717 Dundas Street in Woodstock, Ont., was employed on an instrument panel line, performing assembly-related tasks along a chain-driven conveyor. According to the Ontario Ministry of Labour, the worker noticed part of the production line — known as automated guided vehicles — was running in slow mode rather than at the normal production mode. This part of the production line requires a reset to get back into production mode.
In an effort to prevent stalling or a shutdown, noted the ministry, the worker reached under the line to press the reset button while the line was still in operation. In doing so, the worker’s arm became trapped between the moving line and the stationary power platform. The arm was fractured in multiple places and required surgery.
The automobile manufacturer pleaded guilty to failing, as an employer, to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) were carried out.
In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent 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.
