Updated

Negligence and mismanagement led to the death of a construction worker who was buried during excavation work in Lachine seven months ago, the province's workplace health and safety board has concluded.

53-year-old Gilles Lévesque was working was working for S. Fournier Excavation in April, replacing an underground water main on 54th avenue, when part of the trench and a large slab of asphalt collapsed on top of him.

The CSST (Quebec Workplace Health and Safety Board) cites two causes: the ton of soil dug up was too close to the trench making the surface too heavy, and the sides of the trench were angled wrong and weren't properly reinforced. They also point to poor management of the security of the worksite and of the worker's training.

The CSST says the actions of the company compromised the security of the workers. 

Spokesman Jacques Nadeau said it's the responsibility of the employer to ensure the work site is safe.

"It's basically bad planning. The work should have been planned in a better way," Nadeau said.

"If the right methods had been used in preparing to do this work, everything would have been preventable."

The company faces a fine of between $15,000 and $60,000 for this first offence.

Photo:  Claude Beaulieu/CJAD archives