TORONTO — A general contractor based in Ajax, Ont. has been fined for its role in the death of a worker killed when an excavated dirt wall collapsed.
SMID Construction Ltd. was convicted June 21 in a Toronto court and fined $155,000. The incident occurred at a Toronto residence in October 2016, said a Ministry of Labour statement.
SMID was retained by the owner of a two-storey residence to renovate the house, including enlarging the garage door and widening the driveway.
One task on that October day was to pour a new concrete retaining wall under the footing of the existing stairs to the front porch of the house.
To do so, an excavation was dug on the side of and underneath the porch. Two workers were in the process of installing wood formwork panels in the excavation, into which the concrete would be poured. One worker was in the excavation area when the excavated dirt wall under the footing of the stairs, a portion of the footing and the foundation wall of the stairs collapsed.
A ministry investigation determined the walls of the excavation were not supported by any kind of support system.
The statement explained Section 234(1) of the Ontario Regulation for Construction Projects (O. Reg. 213/91) prescribes “the walls of an excavation shall be supported by a support system that complies with sections 235-239.”
The court found SMID failed to ensure the measures and procedures prescribed by the regulation were complied with, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, an offence pursuant to section 66(1) of the act.
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