Personal Work Injury Cases

Queensland and Victorian manufacturers fined $70K over crushed wrist; Queensland self-employed builder fined over fall from height; Victorian employer fined $40K for striking powerlines but nobody hurt; and WA employer fined $14,000 for not providing edge protection.

Queensland and Victorian manufacturers fined $70K over crushed wrist

Two manufacturing companies have been fined after a factory worker in Queensland suffered a crushed wrist in 2006.

The employee of KR Castlemaine Pty Ltd was cleaning the machine's piston chamber, which was used for pumping and extruding meat products. He became trapped when another worker started it.

The owner of the plant, Darling Downs Foods Pty Ltd, and KR Castlemaine both pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Magistrates Court to breaching s24 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995.

After the incident, both companies introduced a new procedure for cleaning the machine.

Industrial Magistrate Graham Lee fined each company $35,000 and ordered them to pay investigation, professional and court costs totalling $2440.40 each.

Queensland self-employed builder fined over fall from height

A self-employed builder has been fined in the Wynnum Industrial Magistrates Court after his apprentice suffered a broken pelvis.

The apprentice fell six metres to the ground when he lost balance while working on a house under construction in 2007.

The employer pleaded guilty to breaching s24 of the WHS Act 1995.

In its investigations, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland found a makeshift rail on site that did not meed the standard required for edge protection. After the incident, the builder took steps to ensure proper scaffolding was put up to prevent future injuries.

Industrial Magistrate Chris O'Callaghan fined the employer $6000 and $2484.58 for investigation, professional and court costs.

Victorian employer fined $40K for striking powerlines but nobody hurt

A Victorian employer has been fined $40,000 after an excavator struck overhead powerlines in a shopping centre.

The employer, Delta Pty Ltd, pleaded guilty to one charge under the Occupational Health and Safety Act for its actions, which caused a power pole to be destabilised and one power line to come down, but nobody was hurt.

WorkSafe Victoria told Frankston Magistrate Lionel Winton-Smith:

• The spotter was not trained or fully dedicated to preventing the excavator from encroaching on the one-to-two metre "no go zone" around the power lines;
• He was trying to prevent pedestrians from entering the work area at the time of the incident;
• Delta had developed a job safety analysis which required the use of a spotter but did not specify the accepted industry limits for working near electricity cables; and
• Delta did not ensure employees involved in the work had been trained in requirements for working near powerlines.

WorkSafe has developed a framework for undertaking work near overhead and underground assets.

WA employer fined $14,000 for not providing edge protection

A WA construction company has been fined $14,000 for failing to provide edge protection on a building site.

Nobody was injured or killed, but WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said that this resulted from "nothing more the than good luck".

In the Bunbury Magistrates Court, Briklay Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to provide edge protection after WorkSafe inspectors visited one of its building sites.

The inspectors found that no edge protection existed around stairs, stairwells, balconies and suspended slabs. They issued a notice prohibiting work on the units until scaffolding was erected on all edges more than two metres above the ground.

Four days later a WorkSafe inspector saw two people working on balconies at the rear of the building that still had no edge protection. Scaffolding had been erected at the front of the building but it did not comply with WorkSafe regulations.

Commissioner Lyhne said the case was a particularly serious case of an employer disregarding the safety of workers.

She said that the employer not only neglected to provide any kind of fall protection for workers on the site, but also neglected to properly comply with the prohibition notice or to make workers aware of the notice.

The Code of Practice for the Prevention of Falls in Workplaces has been developed by the Commission for Occupational Safety and Health and it provides practical advice to employers on how to prevent falls.