Burlington Firm Penalized $200K Following Workplace Incident

Ontario’s Ministry of Labour has imposed a $200,000 fine on a Burlington company after an employee was struck by a trailer on September 1, 2024.

The ministry reported that Earth Fresh Farms Inc. located at 1095 Clay Ave. did not take the necessary precautions to ensure that all lighting connections between a shunt truck and trailer were properly connected before moving the trailer, which goes against the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The Justice of the Peace Mark Curtis, with Jeffrey Ludlow serving as Crown Counsel, handed down the $200,000 fine after the company entered a guilty plea at a Burlington courthouse.

A 25 percent victim surcharge was also imposed by the court, as mandated by the Provincial Offences Act. This surcharge contributes to a provincial government fund designed to support victims of crime.

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An Overview of Events on September 1, 2024

The ministry stated that a worker at Earth Fresh Farms Inc. at 1095 Clay Ave. was injured while checking shunt trucks near the facility’s loading dock.

The report indicates that just as the worker finished opening the back doors of one trailer and began heading back to the shunt truck, another driver exited from a nearby trailer parked next to it.

This driver noticed that there were no lights on the trailer connected to the shunt truck – typically indicating that it should remain stationary.

The driver then walked behind this unlit trailer toward the loading dock door to complete some paperwork.

<p Meanwhile, the operator of the shunt truck began reversing it towards those loading dock doors but did not see this driver due to a blind spot located at the rear of the trailer.

This resulted in serious injuries for the driver involved in this incident.

The ministry’s investigation discovered that the audible reverse alarm on this shunt truck was not functioning correctly; furthermore, it was being used without proper connections for its lights or brakes. Inspection records showed no defects with this vehicle either.

Additionally, investigators found out that management had instructed operators that since their work area wasn’t classified as roadways, there was no need for both brake connectors and reverse alarms on these trucks.

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