Maple Leaf Foods Inc. has been fined after a worker was injured in a fall from a loading dock in Thamesford.
The Ministry of Labour said on September 4, 2015, a Maple Leaf employee was asked to move a one-person lift called a Genie GR-12 on to a truck in the loading dock at the company's facility, which is located at 149 Brock St. The employee used an electric forklift to lift the Genie and move onto the truck, however, the truck rolled away from the loading dock when the forklift was moving off the loading dock. The employee fell off the dock to the ground below, along with the forklift and Genie, and suffered injuries.
Following an inspection by the Ministry of Labour, it was determined that blocks were not used under the wheels of the truck, to prevent it from moving while at the loading dock. It was also learned that Maple Leaf had not checked to see if blocks were needed.
Maple Leaf has since pleaded guilty to failing as an employer to ensure that the safety procedures were followed, and was fined $110,000 in a Woodstock court on Friday. The court also imposed a 25% victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act.
