Alberta paving company to Pay $295,000 penalty in workplace fatality case

Smith Group Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiary Brooks Asphalt & Combination Ltd. have been ordered to pay a penalty of $295,000 in reference to a office fatality that occurred on July 23, 2021.

The incident, which led to the loss of life of a employee, resulted in 15 prices below occupational well being and security (OHS) legal guidelines.

On March 6 in Brooks, Brooks Asphalt & Combination Ltd. pleaded responsible to 1 cost below the OHS Act for failing to make sure the well being and security of its employee. Consequently, all prices in opposition to Smith Group Holdings Ltd. and extra prices in opposition to Brooks Asphalt & Combination Ltd. have been withdrawn.

The tragic incident unfolded at a street development website within the County of Newell, the place a employee misplaced his life as a consequence of asphyxiation whereas cleansing out a gravel bin with a operating conveyor.

As a part of the penalty, the corporate can pay a complete of $295,000, which features a $1,000 wonderful.

A notable portion of the penalty, $244,000, shall be allotted to the Alberta Building Security Affiliation. These funds shall be utilized to develop varied security assets, together with a three-dimensional incident re-creation video, a collection of studying movies, a toolbox discuss useful resource information, and a security session open to all industries.

Moreover, $50,000 shall be allotted to the Brooks Fireplace Division to amass new rescue gear.

The choice to direct the penalty funds in the direction of security initiatives stems from a provision inside the OHS Act, which permits for a inventive sentence choice to advertise office well being and security.

Each the corporate and the Crown have a 30-day window to attraction the conviction or penalty, as per Alberta’s OHS legal guidelines.