Brampton Car Manufacturer Slapped With Huge Fine After Severe Worker Injury

Published September 29, 2017 at 2:31 am

After a worker’s head was badly injured on the job at a car assembly plant in Brampton, a big company is facing a stiff fine. 

After a worker’s head was badly injured on the job at a car assembly plant in Brampton, a big company is facing a stiff fine. 

Brampton Automaker FCA Canada Inc, part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, is facing a $140,000 fine after a worker received head injuries by a transfer press.

Here’s what happened:

On July 26, 2015, a worker was doing annual maintenance work on a transfer press – the “D-Line Press” – which helps make car door and fender panels. More specifically, the worker was doing maintenance on the machine’s clutch.

“The worker and two colleagues were removing bolts connecting a clutch plate to other components of the clutch assembly when two bolts from the clutch spring assembly fractured and were ejected at high velocity,” said the ministry of labour in a statement. “One worker was struck in the head by a clutch spring assembly, lost consciousness and suffered injuries.”

After some investigation, the ministry of labour found that this was in part due to “periodic breakage of spring bolts.” So, the bolts were failing – when the press completed a cycle, the clutch springs received a force that could separate the bolt connections. 

As the cycles continued, the force was applied repeatedly and the bolts deteriorated and fractured.

The company pleaded guilty for failing to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect a worker from the ejection of parts from the transfer press when performing maintenance work – a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act – and was fined on September 27, 2017.

The court also imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

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