Father disappointed company fighting charges

The father of a 22-year-old man who died from an industrial accident last year says he is "disappointed" his son's employer is fighting charges laid under Nova Scotia's Occupational Health and Safety Act.

O'Regan Chevrolet Cadillac Ltd. pleaded not guilty to five charges in Dartmouth Provincial Court Monday stemming from a March 2008 explosion in Dartmouth that killed Kyle Hickey.

The company should accept responsibility for his son's death, Paul Hickey said.

"Morally I was hoping they would take some responsibility for the accident that took my son's life," Hickey told CBC News.

"They didn't do that, so now there will be a trial."

The director of the family-owned company's collision centre has also entered a not guilty plea.

Kyle had been working at the former O'Regan's Kia on Wyse Road for less than a year, when an explosion in the painting area of thedealershipsent him and two other employees to hospital. He later died of severe burns.

The dealership has since relocated to Windmill Road.

No representatives of the family-owned business were in court.

The charges allege O'Regan's didn't adequately protect or train workers nor did the company comply with regulations governing the use of hazardous materials.

A report by the province's Department of Labour into what caused the fatal accident won't be made public until the case leaves court.

If O'Regan's is convicted in all five charges, the company could face a maximum fine of $1.25 million.

The company's lawyer plans to call 40 witnesses during a three-week trial to be set sometime in 2010.