Winnipeg Health Agency Penalized for Injury to Worker

A Winnipeg health agency pleaded guilty to a workplace safety charge and was penalized nearly $80,000 after a worker suffered soft tissue injuries to his head and left forearm.

On April 24, 2008, the employee was working in a Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) laundry facility when the incident occurred. The worker reached into an industrial washing machine to remove several mops that had failed to tip onto an adjacent dryer-conveyor, said Heidi Graham, a spokeswoman with the WRHA in Winnipeg. (WCxKit)

"As the worker was reaching into the washer's drum, the large metal hopper – attached by hinges to the top of the washer – moved into its 'down' position and pinned him between the hopper and the washer's metal door opening," she says. The washer continued its programmed cycle of tilting upwards to accept the dirty laundry suspended in the bags overhead."

The worker experienced "substantial soft tissue injuries" to the side of his head, including a cut to his left ear that required stitches. "While there was substantial soft tissue injury to [his] left forearm, it was not broken," Graham adds.

Unable to return to work, the employee remains on workers compensation and is likely to retire later this year, she says.

The WRHA pleaded guilty on Jan. 13 under Section 16.4(1)(a) of Manitoba's Workplace Safety and Health Regulation for failing to ensure that all machines in the workplace could safely perform their intended functions. More specifically, it was cited for failing to provide an LX445 Lavatec Washer-Extractor with optional metal hopper attachment to prevent a worker from coming into contact with moving parts.

Sean Brennan, a Manitoba Crown prosecutor, says the WRHA was hit with a $65,000 OH&S fine, a $13,000 victim fine surcharge and a $50 court fee.

Following the mishap, the health agency's management team and workplace safety coordinator convened a group to ensure safety at the facility, which opened in 2006 and employs about 120 staff. The subsequent action plan, Graham notes, was reviewed and approved by the province's OH&S division. It has since been fully implemented. (WCxKit)

Accidents at industrial laundry operations have proven fatal in the past. In April of 2007, a worker in Ontario died after becoming trapped between the chute and the door opening of a washer extractor, the province's Ministry of Labor reports. Booth Centennial Healthcare Linen Services, the employer, was penalized a total of $112,500 for OH&S contraventions.

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