The Ministry of Labour has issued a $50,000 fine to an Essex-based company after a worker was critically injured in Leamington.
Essex Weld Solutions Ltd., a steel fabrication and assembly company at 340 Allen Avenue, received the fine after pleading guilty in July in Windsor Provincial Offences Court and was sentenced this past September.
Along with the fine, the court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act.
On March 17, 2025, the ministry says a worker at the company’s Leamington facility was instructed by a supervisor to adjust a mobile roller conveyor.
The conveyor consisted of four sections fastened together and was routinely reconfigured to accommodate different orders, with each section weighing approximately 430 pounds.
While working alone, the worker began loosening bolts on brackets joining the conveyor sections together, and as the worker loosened bolts on the brackets of a middle section, the conveyor collapsed, critically injuring the worker.
An investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development found that the company failed, as an employer, to ensure that the conveyor was securely blocked to prevent it from tipping while undergoing maintenance, contrary to Section 46 of Ontario Regulation 851, Industrial Establishments.