A coroner’s inquest has made four recommendations to improve safety at New Brunswick salvage sites.

Darrell Richards was injured at the American Iron and Metal (AIM) facility in west Saint John on June 30, 2022, and died in the hospital the next day.

Richards suffered life-threatening injuries while cutting into a calender roll with a circular saw.

The inquest inquest found Richards died as the result of an accident, with the cause being severe blood loss.

After hearing from 16 witnesses over three days, the five jurors made four recommendations:

• The continuation of appropriate training and certifications, and that supervision remain a priority and compliant with WorkSafeNB.
• That communication must be initiated by AIM headquarters and distributed throughout all AIM satellite sites. Employee communication is a valuable tool to help prevent workplace accidents.
• For AIM New Brunswick to research all suppliers with a request for appropriate credentials and background checks, and request a description of materials and indication of hazards pertaining to the products.
• For AIM New Brunswick to implement an inspection program to aid in the identification of hazardous materials, and continue to quarantine and label hazardous materials accordingly until appropriate documentation is obtained with an approved safe-work procedure.

A coroner’s inquest does not make any finding of legal responsibility nor does it assign blame.

AIM previously pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to take every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of Richards.

It was ordered to pay $100,000 to the New Brunswick Community College to set up a scholarship in Richards’ name.