A Leamington-based mushroom grower has been fined after a worker was seriously hurt on the job over a year ago.
Highline Produce Limited has been fined $112,000 after a man was pulled into a conveyor. The Ministry of Labour said the accident happened at the company's growing facility near Belleville. The ministry said the worker suffered critical injuries after being caught and dragged into a conveyor on September 20, 2018.
A 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge was also imposed, as required by the Provincial Offences Act, after Highline pleaded guilty and was convicted on Friday
The court heard a worker was working as part of the clean-up crew in the spawn area.
"The worker was washing down the concrete ramp to the spawn area's overhead door and was called over to work on cleaning up the compost which had been knocked off the green feed hopper onto the concrete pad below," the ministry said in a statement issued on Monday afternoon.
The green feed conveyor feeds the green compost up into the spawn area for production. The conveyor and hopper consist of chain-driven crossbars and a fixed flat pan conveyor. The bars move up the flat pan, dragging material to the top.
The victim was helping the lead hand when the conveyor was started and began to move.
"The worker started to walk in front of the conveyor, slipped on some wet compost on the ground and fell," said the ministry. "The worker reached out and grabbed one of the conveyor bars to try to stop the fall and was caught in the bars of the moving conveyor."
He was dragged up and into the conveyor because it had no guards to prevent the worker from being pulled in.
Highline was found guilty of failing to take reasonable precautions to ensure the conveyor/hopper was locked out while it and the area around it were being cleaned.
"An employer shall take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker at a workplace," added the ministry.