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A constructor, an employer and two employees have been fined a total $380,000 following a 2021 incident in which two workers were critically injured when an elevator platform collapsed at a highrise residential construction site in St. Catharines.

Homestead Land Holdings of Kingston and Hamilton-based Reimar Construction Corp. both entered guilty pleas to a charge under the Occupational and Workplace Safety Act.

Two Reimar employees, supervisor Jose Martinho and director Miguel Martins, also pleaded guilty at the Provincial Offences Court in Welland in December.

A release issued by the Ministry of Labour said the convicted parties –– Homestead was constructor of the tower and had contracted Reimar to perform concrete framework –– failed to ensure measures and procedures were properly carried out as required by the construction regulations, following the elevator shaft platform collapse.

Justice of the peace Bruce Phillips imposed fines on all four parties, with Homestead fined $150,000 and Reimar fined $200,000. The two employees were each fined $15,000.

The incident took place at 40 Towering Heights Blvd. on April 16, 2021.

At 12:44 p.m., the St. Catharines fire department and Niagara Emergency Medical Services were called to the scene to rescue two men from the bottom of an elevator shaft after falling nine storeys.

One man was transported to an out-of-town hospital by Ornge air ambulance and the second man was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Following the incident, the Ministry of Labour was called to investigate.

According to the ministry, on the day of the incident supervisor Martinho assigned two workers to move and install formwork for the inner walls of the building’s elevator shaft.

The workers, Martinho and a crane operator began to install and level an elevator shaft platform, for the formwork and for workers to stand on during installation.

The ministry said the platform was supported by beams that rested in pockets formed into the concrete elevator walls.

When the workers began having trouble aligning the beams into their respective pockets, and with concern over the amount of bearing in the pocket, the supervisor installed an additional bracket under one end of one of the support beams.

Once the platform was installed, 5,430 kilograms of formwork was placed on it, and the two workers stepped on the platform. While working, the platform collapsed on one end, causing the workers to fall.

The ministry said Reimar and the supervisor did not obtain engineering approval for the installation of the bracket. Ontario regulations require formwork and falsework to be “designed by an engineer in accordance with good engineering practice and be installed or erected in accordance with the design drawings.”

In this case, the heads of the anchors that attached to the bracket to the concrete were too small for the opening of the bracket, causing the collapse.

The ministry said Homestead and Reimar failed to ensure regulations were carried out. Martinho failed to take “reasonable precaution of ensuring that modifications were not made to the support system for the elevator shaft platform without the approval of a professional engineer.” And as director, Martins failed to ensure Reimar complied with the requirements.

Attempts to reach Homestead Land Holdings and Reimar Construction were unsuccessful.

In April, Perth County Fabrication and Machining was fined $120,000 after it pleaded guilty to a charge following the death of 44-year-old Curtis Appleyard at a Welland job site.

Appleyard died in November 2019 after he was crushed by a piece of concrete on the construction site of the Grand Canal Retirement Residence.

The Bornholm, Ont., company pleaded guilty to a charge under the Occupational and Workplace Safety Act.

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