When you are thinking about National Safe Work Month this October 2022, it’s worth remembering that safety accidents can really happen to anyone. It’s not just the big end of town with hundreds of employees carrying out dangerous work, it’s also your local plumbing and gas fitting business.
In May 2022, a roofing and plumbing business local to Port Macquarie was fined $135,000 when two of its employees disconnected their harnesses from their anchor points whilst undertaking roof plumbing works so that they could reach roof sheets that were approximately 18 metres long, leading to one of them tripping and falling through an unprotected skylight onto an internal stair landing.
It was a simple act - it could have happened to anyone - but the gentleman who fell is potentially unable to work for the rest of his life, having suffered three vertebrae fractures in his neck, subdural/ extradural haematoma to the brain, a fractured skull and T2 endplate fractures.
In dealing with this case, the Court examined the business’ systems of work prior to the incident, steps taken by the business after the incident, sentencing factors, the objective seriousness of the offence, factors leading to general and specific deterrence, mitigating factors (including whether the business had a prior conviction), and the issue of parity. The Court found that the business had exposed 2 employees to health and safety risks and fined the business $180,000, with a 25% reduction for its plea of guilty, with the business to pay the prosecutor’s costs and 50% of the fine imposed to go to the prosecutor.
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that, when you least expect it, things in your workplace may change. if change occurs, you need experienced legal advisers who can advise you on systems and documentation to put in place to help minimise risk, and should the worst occur to formulate a litigation strategy to mitigate any potential loss. This is especially as penalties are criminal in nature and can have serious consequences.
Having a safe system of work can impact the future wellbeing of your staff as well as your bottom line, so it’s important to plan and document appropriately. If you have any questions or concerns about your safe system of work please feel free to contact us on (02) 9688 6023 or visit our website (www.franklaw.com.au) to arrange a conference with one of our lawyers.
