Athens, Ontario-based Feenstra’s Equipment Ltd. plead guilty to failing as an employer to take every precaution reasonable for the protection of a worker at a workplace under OSHA. The business was fined $70,000 after an employee died while inflating a tire.
On Oct. 18, 2013, a licensed tire technician at Feenstra was directed to replace a tire on a wagon, according to court documents. The technician removed the tire from the wheel and was working on mounting the replacement tire on the wheel, but the flange was bent in a number of places beyond the allowable variations meaning that there were a number of places where the tire could come off. It was also noticed that the replacement tire had some damage and that a patch was installed over the damaged area and a tube was placed inside the tire to assist in securing the patch.
While using a two-way non-locking air chuck to inflate the tire, the tire came off the wheel and the air pressure caused the assembly to fly up striking the working in the head, resulting in his death.
The court found that using a locking air chuck on an extension hose with an inline pressure gauge would have allowed the worker to be farther away from the the valve stem while inflating a tire and use of it would have been a reasonable precaution on the part of the employer.
In addition to the $70,000 fine, the court imposed a 25% victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offenses Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
