Jury has recommendations for WorkSafeNB at inquest into death of Fredericton carpenter

The inquest into the death of a Red Seal carpenter at a Fredericton building site wrapped up on Tuesday with a number of recommendations, all aimed at more oversight from WorkSafeNB.

Preston Allen, 34, fell 8.5 metres from scaffolding on Dec. 6, 2021, while working on new house construction on Brighton Court in the city's Skyline Acres neighbourhood. 

Allen was a married father of a young son, Benson, who was five years old at the time of his father's death.

According to his obituary, Allen graduated with distinction from the carpentry program at NBCC and was hired by the Colpitts company, where he later received his Red Seal status. 

After six years, "with a desire to broaden his horizons, in the spring of 2021 Preston relocated to New View Designs, construction unit," the obituary said.

Laurie Cole, owner of New View Design, testified on the second day of the inquest.

Back in July, her company was fined $25,000 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act on charges stemming from Allen's fall.

The company pleaded guilty to failing to provide instruction necessary to ensure an employee's health and safety. The judge also ordered a $5,000 victim surcharge.

On Tuesday, Cole testified that in October 2021, two months before the accident, her project manager left and she was trying to find a replacement.

"There is a lot of turnover and it's very challenging," Cole said.

Allen had previously worked for a large company as a site supervisor, she said, and she brought him on board in April 2021, saying she was "very impressed with him."

She appointed him the lead carpenter for the house under construction at 19 Brighton Court.

"He was a shining star, had a great way about him, very respectful, enthusiastic, had a lot of great skills — he was a leader." 

Cole said the company would typically use a lift to put up siding on a new house under construction but because of the steepness of the lot, they couldn't, "so this was really the first time [Allen] had to use staging."

She said she was nervous about the height of the staging and that she said "on several occasions don't take any chances."

The jury heard how conditions the day Allen fell were a mix of snow, rain and ice pellets. The other employees chose to work inside. They handed materials to Allen through the opening in the wall and every ten minutes they would sweep the planks and add salt.  

Patrick McMahon told the jury on Monday he had just handed Allen more material and turned to walk downstairs when he heard him yell out. He rushed to the opening to see Allen on the ground. 

McMahon and other coworkers sprinted outside and called 911, staying with him until the paramedics arrived.

Regional coroner Sarah Barnett said Allen's heart rate dropped significantly at the hospital and multiple rounds of CPR were conducted to revive him. He was pronounced dead at 2:33 p.m. on Dec. 6, 2021. 

Michel Cyr, manager of investigations at WorkSafe New Brunswick, testified there was no competent supervisor at the work site.

"No one really had knowledge of health and safety [and there were] no procedures in place."

He said a knowledgeable supervisor would know about heights, guard rails, and when to tie off. Guidelines regarding fall protection usually come into effect for heights over three metres, he said.

Cyr said the scaffolding revealed several deficiencies. It wasn't properly attached to the house, was missing guardrails, and there was some additional cross-bracing that had not been installed.

He said the employer has to provide supervision and an adequate risk assessment. One of the employees at New View Design asked the company for a risk assessment for 19 Brighton Court, just days before the accident. Cole told the inquest that they were working on it.  

At the end of the day, the five-person inquest jury released the following six recommendations, saying WorkSafeNB should: 

• Proactively educate new and existing companies/employers by offering resources and consulting services before accidents occur.
• Ensure that there are [an] adequate number of qualified WorkSafe inspectors dedicated to construction.
• Use existing and available building permit data to determine appropriate work sites for inspection.
• Gain access to existing and available building permit data or equivalent.
• Perform a minimum monthly number of random or unannounced site inspections.
• Establish a relationship with the provincial and/or regional construction safety associations to effectively communicate to employers and employees easily accessible online education on the basics of erecting and using scaffolding.

Safety measures taken

Cole said WorkSafeNB put them in touch with someone to revamp their safety procedures following the accident. An orientation package now goes out to each employee and they go through it page by page. 

The company also uses a supervisor assessment tool for each new supervisor to assess their knowledge. Cole said their new foreman is responsible for safety. 

Cole said they also hire a sub-trade to do framing now, partly because of fear stemming from the accident, but also because of a shortage of skilled carpenters to do the job.