A provincial court judge has ruled that Aecon Construction is guilty of a workplace safety violation, in relation to an accident in 2013 that left a worker with a debilitating spinal injury.
On September 09, 2013, a steel beam fell on Chris Conrod, an employee of Economy Glass, who was assigned to one of Dalhousie University’s construction projects. The beam struck Conrod in the back, causing major spinal cord injury – he now has to use a wheelchair due to the severity of the damage.
According to evidence at the trial, subcontractor McCarthy’s Roofing had made two requests through Aecon to have another subcontractor responsible for a swing stage to move the outrigger – of which the steel beam was a part; McCarthy’s submitted the request so that it could begin working on the roofing.
When the equipment was found untouched the morning of September 07, 2013, an employee of McCarthy’s took apart the swing stage without permission from the subcontractor responsible, it was alleged. It was also stated that the employee lacked training in the proper disassembly of such equipment.
At the end of the day, the foreman returned the outrigger to its original position, but did not reassemble parts of the equipment, it was stated, and the foreman also submitted a job assessment risk review card later that day saying that there were no potential hazards remaining at the worksite.
The evidence also revealed that an Aecon supervisor supposedly failed to check the roof after the outrigger was refitted.
Judge Gregory Lenehan gave his decision earlier this week on the case, saying that the company failed to take every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of an individual at the workplace.
“[Aecon] does not escape responsibility by arguing that it was not its equipment that was handled improperly or that such apparatus was not under its control. The entire project site was… under the control of Aecon as a constructor on site. The oversight of health and safety practices on the project was one of the key responsibilities in Aecon’s contract with Dal,” the judge ruled.
“Obviously the Crown is very happy with the decision,” senior Crown attorney Alex Keaveny told CBC News in an email. “Not only did Judge Lenehan find Aecon guilty, his discussion of the many issues raised will provide useful guidance in future cases on a variety of issues.”
Lenehan had also denied a defense request to delay the proceedings due to lost Crown evidence, The Chronicle Herald reported. The judge reasoned that the missing material did not result in any real prejudice to the construction company’s capability to defend itself.
