Workplace Injury Results in $65,000 Fine for London Company

Convicted: J-AAR Structures Limited, 3003 Page Street, London, Ontario, a large concrete supply and concrete formwork erector operating in southern Ontario

Location of Workplace: A construction project located at 110 Waterloo Street, London Ontario

Description of Offence: A worker was injured by exposed rebar after falling from a ladder. The employer failed to ensure the measures and procedures prescribed by section 36 of Ontario Regulation 213/91 (Construction Projects) were carried out, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Date of Offence: September 6, 2024

Date of Conviction: September 3, 2026

Penalty Imposed:

• Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in London, J-AAR Structures Limited was fined $65,000 by Justice of the Peace Kristine M. Diaz; Crown Counsel was Dan Phelan.
• The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

Background:

• On September 6, 2024, a worker was using a ladder to access the interior work platform of concrete formwork for a new stairwell in a parking garage. The ladder was placed against a concrete wall form.
• As the worker approached the top of the ladder, it slipped. The worker fell approximately eight feet towards vertical rebar that was protruding from the foundation. Upon landing, the worker sustained an injury.
• A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation found that the protruding rebar had not been covered or protected to mitigate against the protrusion hazard.