Oxford Plastics Inc. Fined $50,000 After Worker Injured

November 30, 2011

Woodstock, ON - Oxford Plastics Inc., a manufacturer of plastic products, was fined $50,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured.
On March 19, 2010, at the company's Embro, ON facility, a worker was making an adjustment to a machine that held large coils of plastic tubing. The worker was underneath the plastic tubing when one of the coils fell off. The worker was struck and injured. A second worker was also injured trying to assist the first.
A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the coils had not been secured against tipping or falling.
Oxford Plastics Inc. was found guilty of the following:

• Failing to ensure that the coils of plastic tubing were secured against tipping or falling
• Failing to take the reasonable precaution of securing or blocking the motion of the coils while a worker was underneath
• Failing to take the reasonable precaution of conducting a hazard analysis on the machine in question

The fine was imposed by Justice Thomas McKeogh. In addition to the fine, the court 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.