Langley construction firm fined $575K after death of worker
Published 12:40 pm Thursday, April 16, 2026
A Langley construction firm will have to pay penalties of $575,000 for the death of one worker and the serious injuries of another, after the company was found guilty of criminal negligence.
Justice Michael Brundrett ruled earlier this year that the company was responsible for the death of Jeff Caron, and the injuries of Thomas Richer when a trench collapsed on a Burnaby construction site on Oct. 11, 2012.
The Crown prosecutors had asked for a $1-million fine, while the defence had argued for a fine of $345,000.
The incident took place on Edinburgh Laneway near Boundary Road, where an old sewer line was being replaced by new pipes.
The trench to access the old sewer pipes was at least eight feet deep at the point where it collapsed, and bordered by an old concrete retaining wall.
Excavating the trench at the base of the wall made it “completely unable to resist collapse,” Brundrett wrote in his verdict earlier this spring.
Brundrett found that the disaster was due to an organizational failure to ensure safe practices on the worksite, calling it a “collective failure” of the J. Cote and Son’s senior officers.
The judge spoke of the victim impact statements he received in the case, including from Caron’s sister and a friend. Caron, a 28-year-old from Saskatchewan, was described as kind, gregarious, and musically talented, and the judge noted he “had much of his life ahead of him.”
Richer has suffered long-lasting physical and psychological impacts from his injuries, which included fractured ribs, chronic back pain, and problems with his right hip and knee. He lost his job after the collapse, and later attempted to take his own life.
“Overall, the impact statements highlight the fact that harm to the victims was unexpected, profound, and enduring,” Brundrett said in his sentencing ruling on Wednesday, April 15.
In coming to his determination on the total fine, the judge considered other cases of criminal negligence in an industrial setting. He also noted that J. Cote and Sons suffered a loss of business in the years after the incident and only began to recover in 2019, about seven years after the death and injury.
He also said he was satisfied that J. Cote has made significant changes to the way it operates and its health and safety procedures since the incident.
The fine for the death of Caron was set at $400,000, and $100,000 for the injuries to Richer. Both fines also have a 15 per cent victim surcharge placed on them, leading to a total charge of $575,000. There was also a restitution order of $6,246.25 payable directly to Richer.
The fine is to be paid in installments, starting with $115,000 on May 1, 2027, and $115,000 on each May 1 annually until the fines and surcharges are paid, over five years. Richer’s restitution must be paid within 60 days of the sentencing.