Swing stage trial#

'We are hoping to keep reducing the numbers.' Changing the culture on construction sites

'There are a lot more construction workers, but even one death is too many,' said Ratsch-Mazza, 41. Val Ratsch-Mazza, a health and safety consultant, says the number one killer in construction is falls. Ratsch-Mazza says a lot has changed in the industry since then, from better training for workers to stiffer fines for employers, but she feels there's still a long way to go.Īccording to Ontario's Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, 17 people died on construction sites in 2009.

Swing stage trial#

A criminal trial in Toronto in 2016 handed down a prison sentence to the site's project manager. 'It was a terrible day for us in construction and construction safety,' said health and safety consultant Val Ratsch-Mazza, as she walked through a construction site at Lawrence and Avenue.Ī coroner's inquest to investigate the deaths was called last year but no date has been set. It's been 10 years since a Christmas Eve construction accident killed four migrant workers in Toronto, and while the tragedy pushed the province to make changes to workplace safety laws, experts are calling for a change in the culture on work sites.Īleksey Blumberg, 32, Alexander Bondorev, 25, Fayzullo Fazilov, 31, and Vladimir Korostin, 40 - all recent immigrants from eastern Europe - were doing balcony repairs on a Toronto high-rise building when the swing-stage they were working on collapsed, plummeting some 30 metres to the ground.Īnother worker was badly injured and a sixth, who was tethered as required under provincial law and by industry practice, was left dangling in mid-air but unhurt.