Mt Baldy Resort fined $7K after death of staff member

An Oliver ski resort has been fined $7,000 following the death of a staff member last year.

According to a WorkSafeBC decision, in February 2021 a staff member was trapped under a snow grooming machine and killed at the Mt. Baldy Resort.

WorkSafeBC said at the time of the incident two workers were travelling in a Snowcat groomer to conduct maintenance on another piece of equipment. The workers parked the vehicle and one jumped out of the machine.

The snow groomer then moved forward and the worker was trapped and killed.

"WorkSafeBC's investigation determined that the machine's tiller had malfunctioned, preventing the operator from reversing the machine after the injured worker was caught," the decision says. "In addition, neither worker had been adequately trained on this machine, which lacked an interlock mechanism to automatically apply the parking brake when a door of the cab was opened."

At the time of the fatality, the B.C. RCMP identified the individual as a 70-year-old man.

WorkSafeBC fined the Mt. Baldy Resort $7,031.

The decision says the company failed to do a hazard identification or risk assessment prior to planned maintenance and no safe work procedures had been developed.

"The firm failed to ensure the health and safety of all workers at its worksite and failed to provide its workers with the information, instruction, training, and supervision necessary to ensure their health and safety. These were both high-risk violations," the decision said.

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