$80,000 Fine Imposed on Lumber Mill after a Driver Is Killed Unloading a Truck

A driver was delivering a tractor trailer of lumber to a lumber mill. He was told to drive to the back of the yard where a lumber mill worker would unload the wood. The driver drove to the back of the yard, then stood on the passenger side of the trailer, rolling up the straps that were securing the bundles of lumber, each of which weighed about 6,000 pounds. The lumber mill worker drove a forklift to the truck and started to unload the bundles from the driver’s side. While he was removing the first bundle, an adjacent bundle on the passenger’s side fell off the trailer and onto the driver, killing him. The lumber mill pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that barriers, warning signs or other safeguards were used where vehicle or pedestrian traffic may endanger the safety of any worker. It was fined $80,000 [Monterra Lumber Mills, Govt. News Release, May 9, 2016].