Two-and-half years after an employee severed his thumb while on the job, the company he worked for has been handed a hefty fine.
In provincial court in St. John's today, Country Ribbon Inc. was ordered to pay a total of $25,000.
It includes a $20,000 fine ($10,000 for each count), $3,000 for the victim surcharge and $2,000 to be paid to the minister of government services for the purpose of public education in occupational health and safety.
The sentence, handed down by Judge Pamela Goulding, was agreed to and recommended by Crown prosecutor Glynne Faulkner and defence counsel David Eaton.
No one from the company was in the courtroom.
The company pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching the province's Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The first count states the company failed to ensure workers, particularly supervisors, were made familiar with health and safety hazards, while the second states the company failed to ensure machines and equipment were operating safely and properly.
The charges stem from an incident that happened Dec. 23, 2009.
While cleaning the 9-Piece machine — which slices full chickens into individual pieces — Jamie O'Leary severed his thumb, cut two fingers and dislocated two fingers.
O'Leary later stated that he was trained to do the job, but was not made aware of the operating procedures until after the accident.
Charges against supervisor Grant Mitchell were withdrawn.
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