Construction company fined $1.2M for crane incidents in Victoria, Vancouver

A construction company faces more than $1.2 million in fines for multiple safety violations related to cranes dropping materials, including one fatal incident in Vancouver.

EllisDon Corporation was handed the fines for a construction incident that resulted in the death of worker Yuridia Flores at the Oakridge Park in Vancouver in February 2024 – as well as two other incidents where tower cranes lost their loads in Vancouver in Victoria, though no serious injuries were reported at those two sites.

EllisDon was fined $514,831.53 for the fatal Oakridge Park incident with WorkSafeBC saying it was the prime contractor for construction at the complex, which saw a load fall from the crane and onto Flores below.

WorkSafeBC said EllisDon failed to review its subcontractor’s safe work procedures, did not confirm a risk assessment had been completed, and did not categorize the lift that day as a “critical lift.”

It also found a host of other “high-risk violations” at the site.

Subcontractor Newway Concrete Forming was also fined $112,624.66 in the death of Flores for “multiple safety deficiencies,” including a lack of training, a lack of risk assessments and inspections, and a lack of communication for ground workers and control zones.

RELATED: Companies fined over fatal crane accident at Vancouver’s Oakridge Park

Nearly $700K fine for Victoria, Vancouver incidents

Meanwhile, EllisDon was fined more than $680,000 for two crane-related safety incidents in Victoria and Vancouver over the past year.

The Victoria incident occurred in June 2025 when a tower crane lost its load “while lifting core box formwork,” according to WorkSafeBC.

WorkSafe says it determined that EllisDon did not have a system in place for inspecting work that was related to safe rigging and lifting, and did not have detailed plans on how to handle and lift multi-connected formwork panels.

Meanwhile, another crane load was dropped at an EllisDon worksite in Vancouver in April 2025 when a crane was moving a load of steel canopy components from a balcony onto a lower level.

While it was in motion the rigging sling broke “when it was cut by the sharp edge of a canopy section and the load fell.”

“WorkSafeBC determined the firm had not ensured detailed lifting plans were developed by contractors prior to lifting,” said the organization.

WorkSafeBC handed EllisDon a fine of $688,589.56 for the two “high-risk” violations.

“In both incidents, the firm had not reviewed the lift plans prior to lifting. As prime contractor of a multiple-employer workplace, the firm failed to do everything reasonable to establish and maintain a system to ensure regulatory compliance,” said WorkSafeBC. “This was a repeated and high-risk violation.”

In a release Friday, WorkSafeBC said monetary penalties are primarily used to encourage employers to comply with occupational health and safety legislation and keep workplaces safe, and to serve as an example to other employers to follow the rules.

“Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family, friends and colleagues of Yuridia Flores,” said WorkSafeBC.

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