Warning: Readers may find some details disturbing
A Saskatchewan company was fined $350,000 for the death of one of its employees.
The ruling against BLS Asphalt was handed down in Weyburn Provincial Court.
“The gravity of the offence was high in light of the fact that Mr. Lucyk died as a result of the two offences of which BLS Asphalt was found guilty,” said Justice Michelle R. Brass last week.
In March, Justice Brass found BLS responsible for the death of 33-year-old Troy Lucyk on Nov. 22, 2017, while he was working at the company’s gravel pit in Ceylon, Sask. Lucyk became entangled in the tail pulley of a conveyor system and was crushed to death.
After an investigation by Occupational Health and Safety from the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, BLS Asphalt was charged with three criminal offences.
BLS didn’t provide information, instruction, training or supervision on the clearing of the chute that led to Lucyk becoming entangled in the tail pulley. BLS Asphalt was also found guilty on the charge that they failed to provide an effective safeguard where a worker may contact a dangerous moving part of the tail pulley. This failure resulted in the death of Lucyk, ruled the court.
Defence T. John Agioritis told the court that a fine of $85,000 was appropriate.
During the sentencing hearing, however, Crown Prosecutor Buffy L. Rodgerssought a $560,000 fine and highlighted the Workers’ Compensation Board Annual Report cited in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan on April 9, 2013, that this province is the second worst place in Canada for workplace injuries.
The Crown also provided information that amendments to the occupational health and safety legislation that were being introduced was due to the concerns about the high rate of injuries and fatalities between 2008 and 2011 when 207 workers were killed on the job. Saskatchewan continued to have a high fatality rate between 2015 and 2020 with 208 workplace fatalities.
The Crown noted that the conveyer belt was left running to avoid delays and as a result it may be said that there was a connection between profit and the illegal actions.
The Crown also pointed out that it was necessary to clear the chute a number of times and therefore the risk existed over a considerable period of time. The gravity of these offences was egregious due to the prolonged exposure to the horrific death of Lucyk witnessed by his coworkers. His coworkers attempted to cut him loose and held him up for some 45 minutes before he succumbed to his injuries.
“By not providing information, instruction, training and supervision on how to safely clear a clogged chute and by not safeguarding a tail pulley, it was foreseeable that there was a risk of serious injury or death,” said the Crown.
