Company fined in death of worker at Trans Mountain pipeline site

Company pleads guilty in case of fatal crane fall One of three companies charged in connection to the death of a worker at a Trans Mountain pipeline site in 2020 pleaded guilty on Thursday.

An oil and gas company has pleaded guilty to one count connected to the death of a worker at a Trans Mountain pipeline site three years ago.

Three companies were facing 10 Occupational Health and Safety charges in relation to the death of 40-year-old Samatar Sahal in October 2020.

He died at an Edmonton site when a trench box collapsed during dismantling.

SA Energy Group, the company Sahal worked for, pleaded guilty to not having the manufacturer's instructions readily available to workers on site but doesn't admit that's what caused or contributed to Sahal's death.

The Crown and defence both called this case "complex" and "extremely unique and rare."

The judge accepted a joint submission ordering SA Energy Group to pay a fine of $164,000 with a victim fine surcharge of $32,800. The company also previously paid the Sahal family $400,000.

The remaining charges against the three companies were withdrawn.