Fine for company in crushing death at Australian demolition site
A Liverpool (Australia, not the North West of England) company has been fined $100,000 and ordered to pay WorkCover’s legal costs after a Minto man was crushed to death at a demolition site.
The 58-year-old was killed when a loading ramp collapsed after a hydraulic lifter malfunctioned at the site in Fairfield in January 2008.
The incident was caused by the failure of a pivot pin causing the ramp to collapse, crushing the worker underneath.
The Industrial Court of NSW found that P and D Transport did not have any system for periodic inspection of the trailer or pivot pins in place.
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.
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