A Cobourg company has been fined $70,000 after an employee suffered a critical injury in a workplace accident in February 2018.
In a Cobourg provincial court, Belden Canada Inc. pleaded guilty on Wednesday to failing to ensure that a safety measure was carried out.
The company, located on Willmott Street, produces and sells connectivity and networking products.
On Feb. 15, 2018, an employee at the business was working on a machine used to process wire, which is fed from a spool, court heard.
The results of an investigation into the incident by the Ministry of Labour were presented in court.
“Almost immediately upon starting the machine, the worker became entangled in several loops of the wire,” a report detailing the investigation’s findings said.
The worker called for help and was assisted by other employees until paramedics arrived, court heard. The Ministry of Labour said in its investigation that the employee suffered an undisclosed “critical injury.”
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The investigation discovered the machine had doors and a locking mechanism but that no key or tool was required to open the lock, court heard.
“Therefore, it is not considered to be a fixed guard,” the ministry said in its report.
The ministry investigation claimed this contravened a safety regulation under the industrial establishments regulation that machines must be guarded so that the material being processed will not endanger the safety of a worker.
Justice of the Peace Joni E. Glover fined Belden $70,000 and also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, which is credited to a special government fund to assist victims of crime.
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