Big charge for WA fatality
A preventable workplace tragedy has cost WA firm Monadelphous over half a million dollars.
Monadelphous Engineering Associates Proprietary Limited has been fined $685,000 after a 26-year-old worker was fatally injured in a March 2020 incident at the company’s Kalgoorlie workshop. A 648-kilogram metal frame fell and caused fatal head crush injuries.
Magistrate Paul Lyons, in Kalgoorlie Magistrate’s Court, described the man as a “vulnerable” employee, noting he had worked for the company for less than three months.
Acting as a spotter, he was killed while the unstable frame - unsecured to the telehandler forks - was being moved.
An exclusion zone, which would have required workers to stay at least three metres away, was absent.
Magistrate Lyons said implementing such a safety measure would have been “reasonable” and not “prohibitively expensive”.
The court also heard the workers involved were not trained in exclusion zones. Furthermore, a supervisor had directed similar unsafe practices the previous day, making the offence more serious.
Monadelphous issued a company-wide safety alert following the death.
WorkSafe Commissioner Sally North said the incident was a reminder for workplaces to assess risks for each task and use suitable equipment.
The company, initially pleading not guilty, cooperated with authorities, submitted an early guilty plea, and introduced safety improvements.
Magistrate Lyons considered these factors, as well as the need for deterrence, when delivering the fine, which was accompanied by $21,413 in prosecution costs.