Example #1: During blasting for a roadway construction project, flyrock showered a nearby trailer court, destroying a shed, crashing through a trailer’s roof and forcing a tenant to run for safety. The contractor and a supervisor were convicted of OHS violations and appealed. In upholding their convictions, the court noted that they knew damage from blasting was foreseeable because a prior blast during this project had caused flyrock to reach the same trailer court, thus demonstrating what could happen if proper safety precautions weren’t followed. The practical wisdom from that prior incident should’ve “informed reasonableness and safe practice,” said the court. It added, “Past experience can be a reliable predictor of future incidents or damage” [R. v. Government of Yukon].
Example #2: In a construction project, a worker fell from a scaffold and suffered a head injury. The employer was found to have failed to provide adequate training and supervision, and was convicted of OHS violations. The court noted that the employer had a duty to ensure the worker’s safety, and that the worker’s injury was a foreseeable result of the employer’s failure to comply with that duty. The court added, “The employer’s
failure to provide adequate training and supervision was a breach of its duty of care to the worker, and constituted a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.”


Example #2: In a construction project, a worker fell from a scaffold and suffered a head injury. The employer was found to have failed to provide adequate training and supervision, and was convicted of OHS violations. The court noted that the employer had a duty to ensure the worker’s safety, and that the worker’s injury was a foreseeable result of the employer’s failure to comply with that duty. The court added, “The employer’s
 failure to provide adequate training and supervision was a breach of its duty of care to the worker, and constituted a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.”