Jamie Harris inquest jury issues 10 recommendations to prevent similar deaths on job
Harris, 42, was crushed by an excavator at a Dieppe job site in 2023
Family of a man killed in a workplace accident say the coroner's inquest that concluded Tuesday has brought them some closure.
Jamie Harris, 42, was crushed to death by an excavator in Dieppe on Aug. 21, 2023.
Excavator operator Shayne Henry testified he lost sight of Harris, realizing he had run over his co-worker when he saw his body under the machine's track.
The 10 recommendations touch on mandatory certification for heavy equipment operators, improved communication between workers, harsher penalties for violations, and more checks of safety equipment.
"The recommendations that were made today I think are good recommendations if they follow through with everything and hopefully this tragedy doesn't happen to another family," Karen Poirier, Harris's sister, told reporters Tuesday.
The jury's recommendations are non-binding. Deputy chief coroner Emily Caissy said they will be sent to relevant organizations in the coming weeks for consideration and to seek responses.
Inquests are held to make public the facts of a death, and for the jury to consider ways to avoid similar ones in the future. They are not held to assign blame.
The inquest began Monday. The five jurors heard from four witnesses, including Henry, who appeared to break down while recounting the moment he realized Harris was dead. Donna Harris said the testimony helped clarify what happened.
"We do hope that Shayne gets the help that he needs as well, because he's also suffering," she said. "He has a family. It's not easy on either side."
Harris was working for Perfection Contracting, an excavation company, as part of a crew looking for a potential water leak under a Dieppe street.
Harris a spotter for Henry because of overhead utility lines. No leak was found, and the hole around the pipe was being filled in. Harris and Henry were the only two remaining on the job site.
Henry testified he instructed Harris to get tools to move material in front of the excavator which would scrape it into the hole while backing up. Henry testified that he saw Harris go to get the tools.
The jury heard Henry next saw his boot on the ground, and then his body under the excavator's right track.
"He somehow got in behind my machine. I don't know why he was there," Henry said Monday.
On Tuesday, coroner Karl Jensen testified he was called to the scene.
"The death was instantaneous once the machine started to back over him," Jensen testified.
He said police determined the death wasn't the result of a crime. Jensen testified that a forensic autopsy ruled Harris died of massive crush injuries.
Jensen said the investigation into the death involved looking at potential causes, such as intoxication or whether Harris couldn't hear the machine's noise to alert people it was moving.
Toxicology testing couldn't be completed because of insufficient samples, Jensen said. Jurors were told intoxication was deemed not to be an issue in the death.
There was also a question of whether Harris heard the machine moving. Jensen said earbuds were found in Harris's pants pocket, meaning he wasn't wearing them.
"It was kind of a mystery, really," the coroner said about trying to determine what happened.
Missing mirrors
The jury also heard about the results of a WorkSafeNB investigation. Michel Cyr, the organization's manager of investigations, testified the excavator had two missing mirrors that allow the operator to see around it.
Cyr said the mirrors were required equipment. He said they are often damaged or knocked off during work in the woods, as Henry had said in his testimony on Monday, but there are cages that can be used in those situations to protect them.
"These mirrors aren't perfect, but they're definitely enough to know there's somebody around the machine," Cyr said.
The backup camera was found to be operational, as was an audible alarm to warn that the machine was moving.
Cyr testified that there is an issue with workers becoming accustomed to the sound on job sites. He said there is new technology that uses a sensor on the machine and workers who may be near the machine that sets off an alarm when they are in close proximity.
The investigation found there was no pre-work inspection of the machine carried out that day. Perfection Contracting co-owner Ghyslain Bouchard said such an inspection would result in the machine not being used until the mirrors were fixed.
Bouchard testified the company had used paper based checklists but has moved to an electronic system that allows monitoring in real time.
The jury heard Tuesday that Perfection Contracting faced two workplace safety charges related to the incident, and pleaded guilty last year to a charge of failing to maintain the excavator, which related to the missing mirrors.
It was fined $30,000, a sum that included a $25,000 payment to the New Brunswick Construction Safety Association that would be used for training around heavy equipment.
Cyr testified the money is being used to fund a course that 3,600 people have registered to take for free, with 2,000 completing it so far.
The jury's recommendations were split between those for the company and several regarding workplace safety in general.
For the company the jury recommended:
- Implementing a two-person checklist for equipment with signoff at the start and end of the day;
- Giving site workers risk awareness and safety awareness;
- Enhancing communication such as using sensors such as those Cyr described, especially in proximity to heavy equipment;
- Having mirror protection cages or immediate repair; and
- If a spotter is required, keeping them in place while the machine is in operation.
The general safety recommendations are to:
- Advocate use of a two-person check list for all construction companies as well as pre- and post-work checklists;
- Implement mandatory certification and recertification for heavy equipment operators in the province;
- Implement a policy addressing impairment due to fatigue that would cap the number of hours per week, similar to the trucking industry;
- Adopt harsher penalties for violations; and
- Mke unannounced site visits.
Harris's family members said they're not sure if the mirrors would have made a difference that day but said they're happy with the jury's recommendations related to the issue. They also praised the call for higher fines.
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