Employer pays over $200,000 after health and safety failures led to death of employee…

The District Court has recently ordered an employer to pay over $200,000 after their health and safety failures led to an employee being crushed by plant equipment.

The employer had installed a piece of plant equipment for a building. A person was using the plant equipment when it fell from its fixings, and they tragically passed away.

WorkSafe investigated the incident, and the District Court had to determine whether the employer had failed to meet their health and safety obligations.

The Court considered that the employer had a duty to “take all practicable steps to install the plant so that it was safe for its intended use for workers”.

Evidence showed that the equipment had fallen from its fixings due to incorrect screws being used to secure it. The screws failed to comply with the Building Code.

The Court considered that “more consideration should have been given to the type and length of the screw being used”.

Installing plant equipment was found to be a “core business” for the employer, and the Court therefore considered that they should have been aware of these errors. The Court concluded that this was a “stark example” of the serious consequences of failing to comply with health and safety standards.

The Court held that the installation of the equipment was substandard, and the employer had failed to take all practicable steps to ensure the plant equipment was installed to a safe condition.

It should be noted that this incident occurred under old laws. If this incident happened today, the employer would have faced much harsher penalties under current legislation.

The Court ordered the employer to pay a fine of $41,250, as well as $162,000 in reparations to the victim’s family.

This case is an important reminder of how serious the consequences can be when health and safety duties are breached.