Company fined $34K after Kamloops worker electrocuted

A Kamloops contractor has been fined $34,000 after a worker was electrocuted while trying to hook their high-visibility vest off a live power line.

According to an Oct. 31 WorkSafeBC decision, the worker sustained serious injuries.

The contractor, Tri City Canada, was fined $34,169 following the incident.

The decision says Tri City Canada was a contractor at an apartment building construction site at the time of the incident.

One construction worker was on some scaffolding when they used a piece of metal to try to retrieve a high-visibility vest that had fallen onto a live power line.

"The electricity contacted back through the metal channel and scaffolding, and the worker sustained serious injuries," the decision says.

WorkSafeBC said the company had not confirmed there was enough room to build the scaffolding between the building and the energized power lines.

"WorkSafeBC also observed deficiencies related to the scaffold, which had not been erected in accordance with (the) manufacturer's instructions or a professional engineer," the decision reads. "As prime contractor of a multiple-employer workplace, the firm failed to coordinate health and safety activities and to ensure a system of regulatory compliance."

The decision says this was a repeated and high-risk violation.

No other details are given in the decision.

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