A Saskatchewan man has pleaded guilty and been fined after a worker was electrocuted while working on a farm nearly three years ago.
Jeffrey Wilcocks of the Southey area pleaded guilty to one charge under provincial occupational health and safety regulations and was fined $8,400 after Shawn Parker was electrocuted in December 2007.
Parker was killed while working with a crew contracted to pour and level a concrete shop floor on Wilcocks’s farm.
Glennis Bihun, executive director of occupational health and safety, said all parties have specific responsibilities in a case like this, including workers.
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Parker’s employer Clint Farnham, doing business as Rock Hard Concrete Finishers, has also been charged and is expected to go to trial in November.
Wilcocks, a journeyman electrician, pleaded guilty to contravening a section of the regulations for failing to ensure that exposed metal parts of portable electrical equipment were supplied through a class A ground fault circuit interrupter.
“Mr. Wilcocks was involved in the installation of the electrical panel and failed to meet a specific requirement,” Bihun said.
Two other charges against him were stayed, as were three against Donna Wilcocks.
Bihun said this incident serves as a reminder to be careful, particularly farmers heading into harvest.
Farming continues to be one of the most hazardous occupations. There have been an average of 14 farm work-related fatalities each year for the past five years and more than 200 hospitalizations from farm work-related injuries, she said.
Machinery is involved in 75 percent of the fatalities and 50 percent of the injuries.
Bihun said it is good practice to incorporate safety into any work plan.
Saskatchewan has seen a rise in the number of prosecutions and convictions under OHS legislation. There have been 22 convictions compared to 11 last year. Thirty-five prosecutions were initiated, compared to 32 last year.
“A big part of the increase in our prosecution activity is a result of the implementation of a zero tolerance approach in fall protection in the construction sector,” Bihun said.
