Photo: The scene on Kittiwake Drive after a worker was injured at a roofing project on Monday. Via Shannon Trick.
The Ministry of Labour is investigating after a worker fell off a house during a roofing project in Stittsville on Monday.
The worker was taken to hospital and was discharged that evening, said his employer John Lafreniere. He described the worker as a “kid” who was hired to help out on the ground. It was his first day of work and was passing a roof worker a piece of equipment when he fell, Lafreniere said.
“There wasn’t a safety protocol that was broken,” Lafreniere said. “He had epilepsy and didn’t inform any of us.” The fall was due to a seizure, he said.
“He felt a little bit embarrassed,” and is not working for Lafreniere anymore, he said.
Ottawa paramedics spokesman Marc-Antoine Deschamps confirmed a 19-year-old man was taken to hospital with a minor shoulder injury after falling into a full dumpster at the worksite.
Deschamps could not confirm that the boy had a seizure, but said paramedics who responded reported the patient as being in a “postictal” period, which is a state of being dazed that he said often indicates someone just came out of a seizure.
The incident was reported around 5:30 p.m. at a home in the Kittiwake Drive area, Deschamps said.
The Ministry of Labour was informed of the incident the day of and an investigation is underway, confirmed ministry spokesperson Janet Deline.
“It was reported that a worker fell from a roof above a garage,” Deline wrote in an email to StittsvilleCentral.ca. “No orders have been issued at this time and the ministry’s investigation is ongoing.”