An Alberta road construction company is facing workplace safety charges nearly two years after one of its workers sustained life-altering crush injuries on the job.
According to the investigation, Cody Gogol was at work with Roadside Supply Ltd. in April 2024, when he was crushed under a length of steel weighing more than 907 kilograms — about 2,000 pounds.
He was working inside the company’s welding and fabrication shop in the hamlet of Ardrossan, about 20 kilometres east of Edmonton, when the guardrail structure shifted, striking his face and causing catastrophic damage to his neck, skull, teeth and one eye.
Gogol declined an interview request from CBC News but is identified in court records.
Twelve charges were laid on Jan. 17 against Roadside Supply Ltd. under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The charges allege the company failed to ensure Gogol’s safety by using improper rigging, makeshift clamps and failing to implement other mandatory measures to protect employees from the dangers of being trapped or struck by equipment.
The company is also facing charges related to the investigation that followed Gogol’s injury.
According to investigators, the company allegedly failed to report the injury as soon as possible and failed to ensure that the scene of the injury was not disturbed before investigators arrived.
Gogol’s injury, treatment and eventual recovery are detailed in a video produced by the Workers’ Compensation Board of Alberta and shared by the agency as a return-to-work story last year.
In the video, Gogol said the force of the guardrail fractured his skull, crushed his teeth and dissected his carotid artery. The vessel, which runs along the length of the neck, supplies blood and oxygen to the brain.
He suffered a traumatic brain injury, suffered hearing damage, extensive dental damage and lost vision in one eye.
According to the video, Gogol was back to work at Roadside Supply Ltd. less than one year later, on modified duties.
Grant Duma, co-owner of Roadside Supply, declined to comment on the allegations as the case remains in the preliminary stages.
He said the company continues to work closely with Gogol and said the entire staff was devastated that he was injured on the job.
“We can’t say much about the case at this point but it’s been a tough time for us all,” Duma told CBC News on Friday.
“He’s a close family friend.”
The company is scheduled for its first court appearance on March 12 in the Alberta Court of Justice in Sherwood Park, Alta.
