An Ottawa-based concrete contractor has been fined $80,000 in connection with a 2022 incident that led to a worker’s injuries.

Bellai Brothers Construction Ltd. pled guilty to a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in provincial court. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25 percent victim fine surcharge that is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

The incident occurred at a work site on Sparks Street in Ottawa on December 5, 2022.

A worker was assisting co-workers with the disassembly of two concrete fly forms. The forms were being used in the construction of an 18-storey building.

The worker was holding one end of a 21-foot hinged wing of the form and a co-worker held the other end while waiting for a shore jack that was supporting the wing to be removed.

The workers planned to hold and lower the hinged wing once the jack was removed.

However, once the shore jack was removed, the hinged wing did not immediately drop. It was stuck in the extended position.

A coworker reached for a pry bar to free the wing, but as they did so, the wing swung downward and injured 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 hinged fly wing was moved in a manner that did not endanger the worker.