The Ministry of Labour for Ontario, Canada, ruled that construction contractor Vollmer Inc. must pay $150,000 for failing to protect Rob Morneau, an electrician and father of two working for the company who fell through a skylight to his death in November 2016, according to a report from the Windsor Star website.
According to the report, the incident happened Nov. 3, 2016, during work Vollmer was contracted to do at a plastics facility. On the day of the accident, Morneau was working with others to pull lengths of heavy cable onto the roof of the building. Sometime during a break in the work, Morneau tripped and fell through a glass skylight, landing on the concrete floor below. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Citing a court bulletin by the Ministry of Labour, the Star said the skylights had no guardrails, protective covering, or other means to protect workers from the danger of falling through them.
Vollmer Inc. pleaded guilty Oct. 12 to failing to ensure that workers use and be trained in the use of a fall protection system when working at heights — a contravention of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
