A worker sustained injuries as he fell from a second-floor balcony to the ground while installing aluminum siding on a townhouse.
The incident happened on February 21, 2018 at a townhouse project near the intersection of Dundas Street East and Trafalgar Road in Oakville.
On July 3, the company he was working for, MC Oakvillage GP Inc. (MCO), was fined $60,000. MCO was the constructor of a project of about 200 townhouse units.
The balcony from which the worker fells was 11 feet above ground level. There was a single two-inch by four-inch piece of wood (2×4) installed horizontally at the open edge of the balcony at a height of approximately four feet from the balcony floor.
The worker was standing on a ladder on the balcony to install the aluminum siding on the roof of the balcony. While descending the ladder, the worker grabbed on to the wooden 2×4. It gave way and the worker lost balance, falling over the side of the balcony and landing on the ground 11 feet below. The worker suffered an injury as a result.
Investigation by the Ministry of Labour revealed that the 2×4 was not nailed or otherwise securely fastened in place. Guardrails on the balcony were installed with a “compression fit” approach using a 2×4 wedged between two brick posts; this was done to avoid damaging the brick columns. There was no engineering for the design of the rails to assess what load they could support. There was no other guardrail in place to protect workers from falling.