Hamilton-based railcar company fined thousands for workplace injury

A Hamilton-based company has been fined thousands of dollars after a workplace injury three years ago.

National Steel Car Limited, a railcar manufacturing company on Kenilworth Avenue North, was convicted on Oct. 9 in the Oct. 6, 2022 incident.

The manufacturer has been ordered to pay a fine of $90,000 after a worker was critically injured operating machinery that was “not equipped with a guard or other device that prevents access to a pinch point,” which is a violation of an Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development said in a statement.

The incident occurred on a production line at the Bulkheads First Position, where workers weld C-shaped metal pieces onto flat sheets to create railcar bulkheads.

Following a guilty plea in a provincial court in Hamilton, National Steel Car Limited was fined and 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.

National Steel Car manufactures railroad freight and tank cars and employed approximately 1,750 workers at the time of the offence.

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