VanHeughten Contractors Inc. and its director, Kyle VanHeughten, have been fined a total of $117,500 following the death of a worker who fell from a roof at a construction site.
The incident occurred on March 4, 2022, at a construction project located at 51235 Chalet Line in Aylmer. According to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, four workers were installing wooden roof trusses on top of framed walls without guardrail protection or any other prescribed fall protection equipment. Additionally, none of the workers were wearing protective headwear.
The accident happened when a worker standing on a two-by-four-inch wood strapping, while nailing wood with a cordless framing nailer, fell approximately five meters after the strapping broke. The worker was struck by the nailer during the fall, leading to fatal injuries.
VanHeughten Contractors Inc. was found to have violated section 26.1(2) of Regulation 213/91, which requires the use of fall protection equipment. This failure contravened section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Furthermore, Kyle VanHeughten, as the company’s director, was found to have failed to take all reasonable care to ensure the corporation complied with these regulations, violating section 32(a) of the Act.
On March 8, 2024, both VanHeughten Contractors Inc. and Kyle VanHeughten pleaded guilty in provincial offences court in St. Thomas, Ontario. On April 15, 2024, Justice of the Peace Susan E. Whelan fined the company $85,000 and Kyle VanHeughten $32,500.
In addition to the fines, the court imposed a 25 percent victim fine surcharge, as mandated by the Provincial Offences Act. This surcharge is allocated to a provincial government fund designed to assist victims of crime.
Crown Counsel Neil Dietrich and Daniel Kleiman represented the prosecution in this case.