A Quebec worker remained hospitalized one week after the crane she was operating tipped on its side at a construction site in downtown Montreal. According to a report from the Canadian Occupational Health and Safety magazine, the accident occurred in early June, trapping the operator inside the crane.
As the first emergency responders on scene, members of Montreal's fire department extracted the worker and she was transported to hospital, where she remained with severe contusions as of June 15, according to Eric Arseneault, a spokesman for Quebec's workplace safety board, CSST. (WCxKit)
"When I saw the machinery on its side, I thought 'She is lucky to be alive,’ “Arseneault said. He attended the site, a 450-unit condominium development project overseen by a general contractor. According to Arseneault, the worker, an employee of Pétrifond Fondation, was "doing some sort of maneuver" when the accident occurred. The investigation is still in its early stages, he says, adding that the CSST is looking into reports that the operator was performing pile driving with a foundation beam on a slope at the time.
For its part, the CSST will be examining, among other factors, the work method, whether or not the equipment was used properly, if the worker received adequate training, if she was aware of occupational health and safety dangers, and if she was properly supervised, Arseneault said.
Arseneault said a routine inspection of the site about a month before the accident found no occupational health and safety issues. However, before this inspection, work at another site involving Pétrifond Fondation workers resulted in a stop-work order alleging employees were working too close to electrical lines, Arseneault reported. (WCxKit)
And last year, the construction site in question was shut down until asbestos found in buildings being demolished was safely removed, he added.
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