Supervisor Sentenced to Five Years in Prison Following Fatal Workplace Accident

March 10, 2025 | Luiza Vikhnovich, Keith P. Burkhardt

In a decision released last year, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found a supervisor guilty of criminal negligence following a fatal single vehicle collision involving his direct report. The supervisor has now been sentenced to five (5) years in prison under Canada’s Criminal Code. The sentence is among the harshest in Canadian history for workplace negligence, and a marked departure from sentences more recently imposed on supervisors – 3 to 3.5 years. To date, few workplace incidents have resulted in criminal charges, let alone a five-year jail sentence. 

Why was this case different and what lessons can employers learn from this tragedy?

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