Tuesday 18th May 2021

Company that failed to provide a safe workplace fined $120,000. 

Failing to provide a safe workplace which led to an avoidable accident, has landed a concrete company in court. The company was found guilty of not taking reasonable and practical steps to omit the risk of a collision between pedestrians and a powered mobile plant.

Dandenong Magistrate Court heard that in July 2018, a truck was loading concrete while workers were cleaning up spilled slurry. When the truck was loaded, it pulled out and passed the two workers when one of them tripped and fell, and the truck's rear wheels ran over his left arm.

The worker sustained severe injuries and has had multiple surgeries resulting in the amputation of this little finger and partial amputation of this middle and ring fingers since the accident.

The court heard that no traffic management plan was in place to identify hazards, nor were there risk control measures to separate pedestrians from vehicles, such as physical barriers or exclusion zones.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Julie Nielsen said there was no excuse for not having appropriate safety measures in place.

'This worker is still living with the consequences of an incident that could have been avoided.'

The company was also ordered to pay costs of $13,850.

The original article can be found on the WorkSafe Vic website.