NSW – Crushing injury leads to $180K fine for coal mining company
Following crushing injuries to a worker by a continuous mining machine, a coal mining company has been fined $180,000. Before the incident, the company had been issued with a notice requiring it to improve its risk control measures and consult with employees. More – click here and go to p. 10.
NSW – $90K fine for high voltage electric shock
In another coal-related incident, a coal preparation company has been fined $90,000 after a worker suffered an electric shock. He was accessing a switchboard and touched a live high voltage electrical circuit. The judge deemed that the incident was reasonably foreseeable and that there should have been a high voltage permit system and interlock system in place. More – click here and go to p. 10.
NSW – $115K fine for guard rail failure and fall
Another mining company has been convicted and fined $115,000 after an underground worker fell more than 2.5m when a guard rail failed. He was walking on an elevated walkway and fell through the guardrail. It, and a ladder he tried to hold onto, gave way. Work orders to fix or replace the guardrails and ladders had been raised in 2007, but the work had not been done. More – click here and go to p. 10.
SA - $200K nominal fine after two die when boat sinks
A judge has imposed a nominal fine of $200,000 on a fishing company, after two deckhands died when a boat they were on sank. The fine was reduced to $20,000, due to the company's poor financial state. The company has also been required to pay the maximum allowable amount of $20,000 in compensation. There were numerous safety failings, including an unstable vessel and staff not wearing life jackets. More.
SA – Head injuries leads to $72,000 fine
A company has been convicted and fined $72,000 after an apprentice suffered severe facial injuries when overhauling a crane wheel. The wheel was held together under pressure with two nuts, which the apprentice removed. The rim ‘exploded’, causing fractures to several facial bones. He had tried to find an instruction manual for doing the work, but one wasn’t available. The court deemed that there were no written safe operating procedures, that training and supervision were inadequate and that warnings on the wheel rim had become illegible. More.
SA - $26K fine for confined space incident
A heavy engineering company has been convicted and fined $26,000 after a worker was overcome by fumes when working in a confined space. The employer did not believe he was required to train staff in confined space work if a trained supervisor was present. More.
SA – Inadequate guarding causes finger injuries; company fined $14,000
A worker has suffered lacerations and crush injuries to his hand as a result of an inadequately-guarded machine. His employer was fined $14,000. The risk assessment was deemed to be inadequate and there were no written procedures. It is the 11th penalty related to unguarded machinery in SA this year. More.
SA – Truck driver death leads to hefty fine and publicity orders
A transport company received a notional penalty of $136,000 over a truck driver’s death. However, due to its financial situation, it will not be required to pay it. The employee had worked for the company for one day when he was hit by a 500kg bale which fell from a truck. More.
VIC - $400K fine discounted to $300K after guilty plea over death
A dairy company has been convicted and fined $300,000 after a worker died when a one tonne bag of salt fell on him. Bags were stacked on top of each other, instead of on racks. Racking has now been installed. The company would have been fined $400,000 if it had not pleaded guilty. More.
VIC – Third degree burns leads to conviction and $45K fine
A leak in an acetylene gas torch and subsequent build up of gas has led to an explosion and third degree burns to an apprentice. His employer, a refrigeration company, has been convicted and fined $45,000 over the incident. The explosion occurred in a poorly-ventilated cellar, which WorkSafe deemed to be a confined space. More.
VIC – Supervisor gets suspended jail sentence for truck driver death
A drilling rig supervisor has been given a three year jail sentence, suspended, following the death of an inexperienced truck driver. He instructed the driver, who’d held his licence for only two weeks, to drive a faulty truck down a steep slope. The driver crashed and was killed. The company and director have previously been fined $750,000 and $120,000, respectively, over the incident. More.
VIC – Warehouse collapse kills man; company fined $350K
The collapse of a partially-constructed warehouse has killed a man and led to a $350,000 fine for a construction company. The partly-completed steel frame, measuring 82m x 240m, collapsed. The company failed to ensure temporary bracing was in place. More.
VIC – Three crush injuries in four months costs company $160K
Inadequate guarding has led to three serious crush injuries in four months at one company, which has been convicted and fined $160,000. Administrative controls were used instead of physical barriers. Training and supervision were also deemed inadequate. More.
VIC – Scaffolding loaded with twice safe limit; company fined $100K
A bricklaying company has been convicted and fined $100,000 after it overloaded scaffolding by more than double the safe limit. Erected on a busy road in Prahran, the scaffolding held more than 6,000 bricks. The bricks were distributed unevenly, workers weren’t trained in stacking the bricks and there was no site supervisor. More.
VIC - Nearly 120 improvement notices issued to timber company; $70K fine for non-compliance
A timber processing company has been issued with 117 improvement or prohibition notices since 2001. It has also been fined $70,000 for failing to comply with a safety improvement notice. The company has also been convicted and fined twice over separate incidents. More.
VIC – Tenth conviction for roofing operator
A Geelong man has been convicted for the tenth time over OHS issues. In this case, he was convicted and fined more than $18,000 for failing to provide fall protection for contractors working on a roof. He has also been required to attend an OHS course. Since 2001, he has been fined more than $65,000. More.
WA - $2M for asbestos dumping in 1970’s
A man who was exposed to dumped asbestos as a child has been awarded $2.07M in damages, the highest amount for an asbestos-related case in WA’s history. When he was four years old, he played in and got covered in the asbestos waste. He has now developed mesothelioma. More.
WA – Third prosecution over death in custody
The second driver involved in the death of a man in a police van has been fined $11,000. The passenger died of heatstroke in the back of a van, where the temperature was thought to have reached more than 55C. A government department and the contract transporting company have previosly been fined $285,000 each and the other driver fined $9,000. More.
WA – Guillotine claims work experience student’s fingers; company fined $25,000
A steel fabricator has been fined $25,000 after a work experience student had part of his fingers amputated by a guillotine. While cutting a strip of metal, he lost his balance and accidentally pressed the foot pedal. The company fitted a guard after the incident. More.
NZ – Three parties charged over Pike River disaster
A mining company, drilling company and an Officer have all been charged in relation to the Pike River Coal Mine disaster, which killed 29 miners. More.
NZ – Fall from 15m leads to death and $75K fine
An experienced power line worker has been killed after falling 15m from a power pole. His employer had previously replaced deteriorated poles with concrete poles and had identified that the pole the employee was working on was unsafe to climb before the incident. This wasn’t communicated to the employee. More.
NZ – Principal contractor and employer fined over fall from roof
In another working at height incident, a worker who was installing a satellite dish fell six metres from a roof and was left in a coma. The incident has cost the employer $15,000 and the principal contractor nearly $35,000. No fall protection equipment was provided. More.
NZ – Third fall from height leads to fines
A roofing company has incurred costs of nearly $50,000 over a five metre fall from a roof. The worker fell through a hole in the roof, falling to the factory floor. He suffered severe head injuries, broken ribs and a punctured lung. The investigation found that the employer was aware of the hazard but did not put any controls in place. More.
NZ – Worker hit by 400kg steel beam; employer loses nearly $40K
Poor crane safety procedures has led to a worker being hit by a 400kg steel beam, causing fractures and open wounds. Both the crane operator and the worker assisting him were distracted. A number of other safety failings contributed to the incident and the Cranes Approved Code of Practice was not being complied with. More.
