Toronto plastics packaging supplier, supervisor, fined for workplace accident

Toronto-based polyethylene packaging supplier Regency Plastics Co. Ltd. and a supervisor employed by it have been fined for a forklift accident that left a temporary worker permanently injured.

According to the Ministry of Labour, the incident took place in April 2016. The temp worker as well as a permanent employee had been assigned a task on the opposite side of the plant. To get there, the permanent worker got into a single-seat forklift and the temp worker stood on the forklift’s forks to ride across the plant, obstructing the driver’s view. In the middle of the plant, the forklift collided with a structural steel column.

The temp worker on the forks suffered what the Ministry called “crushing injuries” in the crash, which caused a permanent injury.

A subsequent investigation into the incident determined that neither worker had taken forklift training while working at Regency, meaning they weren’t certified or authorized to operate any forklifts under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).

Both Regency and the supervisor pleaded guilty to the OHSA violations earlier this month. The company was ordered to pay $50,000, while the supervisor faces a $3,000 fine.