Halifax Electrician’s Death Results in Guilty Verdict

Two violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act are being cited as the reasons for the electrocution of electrician Christopher Boyle on May 21, 2013.

Christopher Boyle, 39, was working on an electrical panel on his back when he reached up into the box, electrocuting himself, in the Bayers Lake Business Park, Halifax, N.S.
A coworker and intern pulled him out and started CPR, but they couldn’t save him.The Williamswood man was the father of two young children.

Judge Anne Derrick found R.D. Longard guilty, finding that they hadn’t done due diligence to prevent Boyle’s accident. “The company took a completely hands-off approach to Mr. Boyle’s work. It had no safety program, no manual, no policies, nothing,” wrote Derrick in her ruling.
In her ruling, Derrick noted that Boyle was a “very experienced electrician.”

“There were no protective measures in place and their absence — with Longard simply relying on Mr. Boyle’s experience and safety-consciousness without more and not anticipating that he would work on a 600-volt system — is not due diligence,” she said.

The offences are regulatory, which means no one at the company will serve jail time.

A fine could be handed out during sentencing, scheduled for a later date.