Cabinet Maker Fined $75,000 for Failing to Repair Safety Mat

A worker for a cabinet maker seriously injured his hand and wrist when he stumbled and put his hand into running equipment to break his fall. The safety mat for the equipment hadn’t worked for about three years before the incident and had been disconnected so the equipment could still be used. The manufacturer pleaded guilty to an OHS violation. At sentencing, the court noted that it would’ve cost about $7,500 to fix the safety mat, which the small company could’ve afforded. But it didn’t have prior safety violations and it properly trained its workers, was remorseful and cooperated in the investigation, and its failure to repair the safety mat was negligent but not malicious or wanton. So the court fined it $75,000 [R. v. The Kitchen Centre Ltd., [2016] ABPC 12 (CanLII), Jan. 15, 2016].