News Release

SAINT JOHN (GNB) – A jury has made recommendations to improve the safety of people working in quarry and asphalt operations.

A mandatory coroner’s inquest into the death of Donald Hawkes was held Nov. 3-4 in Saint John. Hawkes died on Oct. 11, 2017, from injuries sustained the previous week during his employment at Springhill Infrastructure in Fredericton.

The five-member jury heard from 15 witnesses during the inquest and made the following recommendations:

• Install a bubble mirror at the batch plant site to aid truck drivers and pedestrians by eliminating blind spots.
• Implement a pre-startup safety inspection audit or assessment by a trained, competent person for industrial and public service sites.
• Mandate a program to assess fitness for duty. This would provide an opportunity for members of the community (family, co-workers, employers, friends) to refer an individual to be screened for fitness for duty by a medical professional in a timely manner. The referral should be substantiated by changes which demonstrate need for assessment. The medical professional would then determine if the individual is fit for duty or if their privileges (i.e. licence, work) should be suspended or revoked. This program should be promoted and be easily accessible at home, the workplace, online or via hotline etc. Fit for duty includes, but is not limited to, cognitive ability (operation of machinery or equipment), mobility, addictions and mental state.
• Employers should provide fit-for-duty training for front line supervisors.

The presiding coroner made the following recommendation:

• That a process be put in place to require operators of commercial vehicles to complete a 360-degree inspection around their vehicle prior to moving, to ensure a clear path. This should be required any time a vehicle has been parked unless it is unsafe to do so.

The chief coroner will forward these recommendations to the appropriate agencies for consideration and response. The responses will be included in the chief coroner’s annual report for 2021.

The inquest was held pursuant to Section 7(b) of the Coroners Act, which states a coroner shall hold an inquest when a worker dies as a result of an accident occurring in the course of his or her employment at or in a woodland operation, sawmill, lumber processing plant, food processing plant, fish processing plant, construction project site, mining plant or mine, including a pit or quarry.

An inquest is a formal court proceeding that allows for the public presentation of all evidence relating to a death. It does not make any finding of legal responsibility, nor does it assign blame. However, recommendations can be made aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances in the future.