Mother of man who died after Halifax workplace accident pleads for ‘justice’

LaVerne David, whose son Martin died after an accident at his workplace in 2020, made an impassioned plea for justice in Halifax provincial court Thursday.

“We have been enduring the seemingly endless pain of a drawn-out court case prolonging our anguish, adding to our grief and preventing our healing,” David said in a victim impact statement during a sentencing hearing for her son’s employer, The Brick.

 The furniture retailer was found guilty last year on three charges under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act in connection with Martin’s death.

“We know that we are not rich and that the power of the wealthy seems to rule the world,” said David, who is Black.

“I know that in this world, our race is seen as inferior, the lives of our sons are treated as subhuman, and our families discounted. But today I pray for justice for Martin’s sons and that no other family will ever have to endure what our family has been through.”

Martin David, a 47-year-old delivery driver, was found lying on the floor of a darkened washroom at the company’s Halifax store June 9, 2020, at about 9:45 a.m.

David had walked into the employees’ bathroom two minutes earlier after suffering a fall while loading a delivery truck at the store.

A co-worker discovered David lying in front of the urinals. The washroom was in complete darkness because the lights in parts of the store were programmed to be off overnight until 10 a.m., when the store opened to the public.

David was unresponsive at first. He then vomited and struggled to form responses to questions.

When paramedics attended, David was heard telling them that his head hurt. He was transported to hospital, where he died two days later.

An autopsy revealed the father of four from Hammonds Plains had died from blunt-force head trauma that resulted in cardiac arrest.

David’s father contacted the provincial Labour Department on June 11, 2020, to report his son had suffered a brain injury at his workplace.

Later that month, The Brick’s lighting contractor readjusted the system so that the lights in the washroom area were always on when workers were present.

Charges laid in late 2021

An investigator with the Labour Department laid four charges against the company in November 2021, 17 months after David’s death.

The company stood trial last April, and Judge Elizabeth Buckle delivered the verdict in September.

Buckle found The Brick guilty of failing to ensure the bathroom was adequately illuminated and failing to ensure its policies for accident injury investigation and lighting were implemented.

The judge acquitted the company on the fourth charge: failing to notify the Labour Department of a workplace accident within 24 hours.

“The Crown proved there was an accident that triggered a duty to report,” Buckle said. “However, The Brick honestly and reasonably believed that Mr. David’s condition was the result of illness, which did not trigger a duty to report.”

In December, the judge ruled that the Crown had failed to prove any of the violations caused David’s death. The ruling means the maximum penalty for each charge is $250,000.

On Thursday, Crown attorney Alex Keaveny argued the company’s blameworthiness is at the highest end for non-fatality incidents.

“Clearly, these are violations that are connected to what happened, even if we can’t prove they resulted in Martin David’s death,” Keaveny told the court.

The prosecutor recommended the company be fined $62,500 – 25 per cent of the maximum – for each offence, for a total of $187,500. There would be an additional $28,125 in victim fine surcharges, for an overall financial hit of $215,625.

Keaveny also requested that The Brick be ordered to give four safety presentations about the case. Defence lawyer Ron Pizzo suggested the presentations could be made to the Retail Council of Canada.

“We are recommending to you a sentence that is a significant sentence in terms of sentences that are imposed in this province for (safety) violations,” Keaveny said. “We’re not suggesting it is of any significance when compared to the life of Martin David.

“That’s a loss we can never touch. But (the sentence) is enough of one that hopefully it sends a message. These types of negligence …  should never happen. The company has policies to protect their employees. Everyone should know about them, and they should follow them.”

Pizzo said The Brick upgraded its lighting system after the mishap and has improved its occupational health and safety regime.

 “We don’t know, specifically, if lighting had anything to do with (David’s death),” he said. “We don’t know where the accident happened. Even if there were lights, we can’t say that falling could not have happened, especially if … Mr. David had suffered from ill effects from the prior fall.

“Just as equally, we cannot say that having lights in an institution prevents falls. It reduces the risk; it does not prevent them.”

Pizzo said the company’s failures were at the lower end of the scale and should attract a lower penalty, which he argued should be about $20,000.

The judge reserved her decision until April 10.

In her impact statement, LaVerne David said Martin loved to write poetry and took the most beautiful photos. He also volunteered in the Upper Hammonds Plains Fire Department.

“He loved driving the fire truck and helping to train junior firefighters,” she said. “I can only imagine how ready he would have been to help community members and friends had he lived to experience the historic fires that devastated our communities (last year).”

She criticized the company for not contacting the family after Martin was taken to hospital. His relatives only learned of his situation when a nurse called on the afternoon of June 10, almost 30 hours later, looking for medical information about him.

“Someone mentioned that the people working at The Brick were ‘like family,’” LaVerne David said. “Is this how you treat your ‘family?’”

Words of forgiveness

The mother ended her statement with a message of forgiveness.

“It is hard to forgive those responsible for what happened to our family,” she said. “However, my God’s words tell me that if I don’t forgive them, he will not forgive me. Therefore, I must, but I want you to know that it has been a struggle!”

LaVerne David also read impact statements to the court from Martin’s father, sister, two aunts and his common-law wife, Laura Jordan.

“His death should never have happened,” wrote Jordan, the mother of Martin’s two youngest sons. “Martin should still be here with us.

“He worked hard to provide for his family. He was loyal to the company that killed him.”

She said she cries every night because her boys are losing the memory of their father, and because she loved and needed him so much.

“I lost my protector, provider, partner and my teammate,” she said. “Martin was so easy-going. We worked so well together. I lost my soulmate. Also, I lost my smile and shine. “

Marty David said his son’s life “mattered tremendously to both his family and friends. He will be missed greatly by all who were blessed to know him.”

Impact statements ‘matter’

The judge thanked everyone who prepared impact statements. “It takes such tremendous courage to … commit those comments to writing,” Buckle said. “I want you to know that they matter.”

She said their descriptions of Martin gave him a presence in the courtroom.

Buckle also commented on LaVerne David’s words of forgiveness.

“It sort of reaffirms my faith in people and gives me a little bit of hope that people can go through this kind of experience and still feel forgiveness,” the judge said. “It’s a remarkable thing.”

Greg Nakonechny, legal vice-president for The Brick, said the company has taken the matter seriously and is “truly sorry” for the impact on David’s family.

“We pride ourselves as an organization that takes health and safety seriously,” Nakonechny told the court. “We have given evidence of extensive policies, but in this case, these unusual circumstances resulted in unfortunate results. We have taken steps to try to rectify that and prevent that from happening further.”