Amco Farms in Leamington, Ont., fined $70,000 after worker injured while repairing scissor lift

A worker using a hydraulic scissor lift in a greenhouse. (Adobe Stock)

Amco Farms in Leamington, Ont., has been fined $70,000 after a worker was injured while replacing the hydraulic cylinders on a scissor lift. During the repair, the lift’s platform and lifting mechanism collapsed.

On April 25, 2022, two workers were asked to replace the hydraulic cylinders on a scissor lift since they were leaking and required re-sealing.

One worker elevated the platform of the lift and positioned the forks of a forklift just below the platform to allow the other worker to go underneath the platform to access the hydraulic cylinders.

While the first worker operated the lift, the second worker went inside the lift and removed one of the cylinders. As the worker was removing the second cylinder, the rollers supporting one end of the lift’s platform released from their guide rail, causing the platform and the lifting mechanism to collapse down, injuring the worker.

By failing to ensure that the lift’s platform and lifting mechanism were securely and solidly blocked to prevent them from moving or falling, Amco Farms Inc. contravened section 74 of Ontario Regulation 851, contrary to section section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Following a guilty plea, Amco Farms Inc. — which grows, packages, and ships produce — was fined $70,000. The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.