By Isaac Phan Nay | The Tyee
More than 12 years after a B.C. construction worker was killed on the job, his employer and the foreman for the work crew are on trial in B.C. Supreme Court.
Jeff Caron, a pipe-layer, was crushed to death while replacing a sewer line in Burnaby, and fellow worker Thomas Richer was seriously injured.
On Monday, the first day of what’s expected to be a six-week trial, J. Cote & Son Excavating Ltd. pleaded not guilty to one count each of criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
David John Green, the foreman on the site, pleaded not guilty to the same charges and one additional charge of manslaughter.
“The allegations against Mr. Green are strongly denied,” Brock Martland, Green’s lawyer, said in an email. “There will be a great deal of evidence that will emerge, which we expect will give a very different picture of what happened.”
The company has hired Bill Smart, a high-profile defence lawyer, who did not respond to a request for comment.
The trial is a rare example of a company facing criminal charges in relation to a worker’s death.
In her opening argument, Crown prosecutor Louisa Winn said the case underscores the responsibility of supervisors to ensure workplace safety.
The Crown accuses the company and foreman of violating B.C.’s Workers Compensation Act and Section 217.1 of the Criminal Code, which holds people responsible for preventing injury to others at work.
On Oct. 11, 2012, Caron and his co-workers were replacing a storm sewer in north Burnaby. Green was the foreman on the project. Caron was inside the trench when a retaining wall collapsed, killing Caron and injuring Richer.
A WorkSafeBC investigation later found the wall had collapsed because of the company’s excavation of the sewer line.
On Monday, Richer told the court the company did not hold weekly meetings to assess and discuss risk, which was common practice at companies for which he previously worked.
Crown counsel Emmanuelle Rouleau argued his testimony underscores a pattern of unsafe work practices that routinely put employees at risk.
Over the next six weeks the court will also hear from company owner Jamie Cote, the engineer who assessed the safety of the project and WorkSafeBC investigators.
