Case Law - Health & Safety Handbook (Page 12)

Case Law

Inexperienced worker injured in high-risk task

Hydro Clean (Griffith) Pty Ltd (Company) pleaded guilty under s 19 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 after failing to comply with its duty and thereby exposing an employee to a risk of death or serious injury.

Fall through void avoidable

Aveo Homes Pty Ltd (the Company) was a residential construction company. It engaged Dascom Electrical Pty Ltd to complete electrical works at the construction site.

Small company receives large penalty for safety breach

Skyhook Roof Access Systems Pty Ltd (Company) installed, maintained and inspected working at height fall arrest anchorage systems. The Company had installed an anchorage system on a building at an aged care facility.

Lack of information ends in fatal forklift incident

CK Crouch Pty Ltd (Company) was contracted to a major poultry producer to catch and load live chickens for slaughter. The catch and load process involved cages being brought into a shed on a forklift at night.

Container crane incident costs company $20,000

An employee of L Arthur Pty Ltd – a company that provides transport, integrated logistics, warehousing and distribution services – was operating a crane to move an empty 40-foot shipping container across a warehouse space.

Risk of death from confined space incident

Industrial Lining Pty Limited (Company) installs protective linings inside plant and industrial equipment. Two employees were installing rubber lining inside a hopper when they were exposed to a harmful level of contaminate and were rendered unconscious.

Workers unaware of asbestos threat

Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (the Company) is a major provider of transport infrastructure projects throughout Queensland, and is involved in the building and maintenance of bridges and roads.

Penalty increased for excavator operator

Worker killed through lack of management plan

On 5 August 2015, a worker of JMAL Group Pty Ltd was loading and transporting a boom lift crane from a depot at Williamstown to Melbourne Airport. The procedure for this task was to load the crane on the public road outside the depot.

Severed by 'unguarded' saw

Supreme Caravans Pty Ltd (the Company) manufactures and sells caravans. On 28 January 2016, an employee of the Company was cutting a piece of timber using a panel saw machine.

Lack of supervision ends in worker head injury

ProjectCorp Australia Pty Ltd (the Company) was the principal contractor at a construction of a block of residential units (the site) NMK was contracted by the Company to perform excavation and demolition works.

Employee injures hand in machine that lacked adequate guarding

Kingspan Environmental Pty Ltd (the Company) manufactures steel water tanks and garden beds. In October 2015, a labour hire employee was operating a curving machine used to manufacture the steel products.

Hefty fine for business that failed to implement a safe operating procedure

Covino Farms Pty Ltd (the Company) operated a vegetable growing business that used a tractor to plant seeds. In addition to operating the tractor, an employee was also required to check if the seeds were planted properly

Incorrectly installed scaffolding collapses, causing fall from height

Pro Guardrail Pty Ltd (the Company) is a scaffolding subcontractor that failed to correctly install scaffolding, which collapsed when a carpentry subcontractor stepped onto an unsecured scaffold plank. As a result, the carpenter fell 5 metres to the floor.

Business gets caught out taking shortcuts on safety

Stadelmann Enterprises Pty Ltd (the Company) operated an earthmoving business and was engaged to move a 17-tonne excavator by way of truck and trailer to a work site.