Australia Company Fined in Worker Death

A Liverpool company has been fined $100,000 and ordered to pay WorkCover’s legal costs after a 58-year-old Minto man was crushed to death when a loading ramp collapsed after a hydraulic lifter malfunctioned at a demolition site in Fairfield in January 2008. P&D Transport NSW Pty Ltd operated a trucking business transporting oversize plant and equipment to and from construction sites. (WCxKit)

On Jan. 29, 2008, P&D Transport was called to a demolition site in Fairfield where a company had requested transportation of an excavator. The excavator was driven by the deceased onto P&D Transport’s low-loader trailer attached to the prime mover via the loading ramp, which was raised and lowered by a hydraulic lifter attached to the rear of the truck.

After loading the excavator on to the deck of the trailer, the deceased dismounted and was found by a co-worker under one side of the ramp. The incident was caused by the failure of a pivot pin that supported the hydraulic cylinder, causing the loading ramp to collapse, and crushing worker underneath.

The sole director of the transport company, Paul Houghton, was separately charged and fined $5000 by the Court and ordered to pay a proportion of WorkCover’s legal costs. The company and its director pleaded guilty to a breach of section 8(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 after WorkCover began prosecution proceedings.

In handing down its finding the Industrial Court of NSW found that the defendants did not have in place any system for periodic inspection of the trailer. In particular, the defendants did not have in place any system that required a daily inspection of the pivot pins used to secure both the top and bottom of each hydraulic ram used to raise and lower the loading ramps attached to the trailer.

In the Court’s view the risk to health and safety was foreseeable by both the corporate and personal defendant. The Court considered it appropriate to draw attention once again to the need for employers and contractors in the trucking, demolition, building and construction industries to ensure employees are not exposed to risks through operating and transporting heavy machinery.

WorkCover NSW’s General Manager of Work Health and Safety Division John Watson said safety for workers should be the highest priority for employers, particularly in workplaces where heavy machinery is being handled.

“Employers must assess the risks to people’s health and safety from hazards such as those involved with loading and unloading heavy items of plant onto and off of trucks. Employersshould be consulting with workers about how best to control risks in a workplace,” he said. (WCxKit)

“Employers must also ensure workers are provided with adequate training and supervision to ensure their safety, including safety procedures such as loading and unloading procedures and procedures for daily or preoperational checks of plant and equipment.”

Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: [email protected] or 860-553-6604.

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