A Southwestern Ontario automotive company has been fined $175,000 after a worker was killed at the firm’s Tillsonburg plant.
A Southwestern Ontario automotive company has been fined $175,000 after a worker was killed at the firm’s Tillsonburg plant.
Marwood International Inc., an auto parts supplier, was handed the penalty after a worker was fatally injured while moving steel coils in the storage bay at the company’s Tillsonburg plant on July 15, 2021. Steel coils are steel products — a sheet or strip — that have been rolled.
A forklift operator was positioning one of the coils when the machine’s forks touched another coil, resulting in a domino effect of three coils falling, according to provincial Ministry of Labor officials. A worker standing between two coils was struck and killed, officials said.
Emergency crews had responded to reports of a serious workplace injury at 35 Townline Rd. just before 6:30 am that day, Oxford County provincial police said at the time.
The deceased was identified as 44-year-old James Klein.
The large steel coils at the company’s plant were free-standing on the floor, with no side supports to prevent them from rolling or tipping over, the ministry said.
The employer, Marwood International, “failed to take specific measures and procedures to protect the safety of a worker,” violating the Occupational Health and Safety Act, it said.
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After pleading guilty, the company was handed the fine by Justice of the Peace Tammy Waugh in Woodstock court on Nov. 17. The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge that is required under the Provincial Offenses Act.
Marwood International Inc. is a Tier 1 automotive OEM structural components and modular assembly supplier, according to its website. The company operates at least six production facilities in the region, four in Tillsonburg, one in Woodstock and another in Ingersoll.
At the time of his death, Klein was mourned as a beloved brother and uncle. “
He was a loyal and generous person with a passion for living fully and fearlessly,” according to his obituary.
The obituary added: “Jamie will be fondly remembered as someone who was always ready for an adventure, whether on the track, trails or around the campfire sharing beers and stories long into the night.”
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