death – Page 64 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

Important OHS and legal issues in findings of South Australian Coroner into young man’s death

The debate on OHS laws will be passionate in the pre-election frenzy of New South Wales but the OHS law reform is a national strategy and the safety debate is not asleep in the other States.

On 11 February 2011, AAP ran an article about the long-lasting familial and social effects a horrible workplace incident in South Australia in 2004. Diemould Tooling Services (fined in 2009) took its appeal against prosecution to the High Court of Australia in 2008 and on 10 February 2011, almost six years after the death of 18-year-old Daniel Madeley, South Australian Coroner Mark Johns has said, at Madeley’s inquest:

“A horizontal boring machine had been operated at Diemould for years in a condition which could only be described as deplorably unsafe. It could have been guarded, but was not. It could have had a braking system, but did not. It could have had an automated lubrication system, but did not.

“Many other things could have been done, but any one of these would have been sufficient to save Mr Madeley’s life….”

Coroner Johns was very critical of SafeWorkSA about its actions following the 2004 death. The coroner’s findings make for disturbing reading on several issues. Continue reading “Important OHS and legal issues in findings of South Australian Coroner into young man’s death”

Death in the workplace guide could have been much more helpful

Workplace Health & Safety Queensland (WHSQ)has released an update of its guidance on how to handle the impacts of a death at work. “A death in the workplace– a guide for families and friends” provides very useful information for a period when a family’s life will change forever and when thinking clearly will be difficult.

Like many guidances from OHS regulators, this one is very legalistic or procedural. It explains the roles of police, coroners, OHS inspectors and others but it lacks a humanity that many would find reassuring in such a difficult time.

One of the issues that creates great anxiety is any delay in getting the body of their loved one back. The Queensland guide discusses organising this through a funeral director but grieving people want a little more information. The guide would have been improved by simply stating that there may be a delay in returning their loved ones and that a delay of a week is often the norm.

Often families choose not to know the details of the procedures because they are focussing on their loss. Anyone who has had to organise a funeral after a sudden non-work related death knows how traumatic the process already is and how disruptive it can be to a family, without the involvement of government agencies, police and others.

If the readership of this guidance was families and friends it has the wrong tone. It provides important information without understanding the context in which such a guide may be read. WorkCover New South Wales’ guide for families recognises this context with “a word of introduction”. Continue reading “Death in the workplace guide could have been much more helpful”

Local safety article reflects bigger issues

Workplace safety hardly ever gets a mention in the daily newspapers unless there is a big corporate name involved or a record fine. Local newspapers often provide more coverage of workplace incidents because the local angle allows for the reporting of the social and familial impact of an incident within days of it occurring.

The 9 February 2011 edition of the Melbourne Times Weekly included a feature article – “Risky Business” by Genevieve Gannon. The existence of any media mention of workplace safety is of note in itself but Gannon’s article, with assistance from the always-helpful WorkSafe spokesperson, Michael Birt, does not only focus on the fatalities (23 in 2010) but also on the maimings. Around 70 people had life-threatening injuries in Victoria in 2010 and 20,000 were seriously injured. Continue reading “Local safety article reflects bigger issues”

Only animals should die in abattoirs

The Sunday Age of 30 January 2011 ran an article about the status of workplace safety in some of Victoria’s abattoirs. The article has some similarities to the landmark investigations by Eric Schlosser into work practices and compensation issues related to meatworks in the United States.

The Sunday Age says that

“(Last financial year [2009/2010], there were 355 workers’ compensation claims in Victoria’s meat industry that required at least 10 days off work, or cost more than $580 in treatment, or both – almost one a day. Nationally the industry’s injury and illness rate remains twice as high as that in the construction industry, and four times the average of all workplaces.”

Many would say that meat work is “inherently dangerous” but in the article lawyer Trevor Monti, contests the perception

”Yes, it’s a difficult industry and the work can be hard,” he says. ”But with proper consideration given to the system of work, the risk of injury can be significantly reduced.”

This is a position with which OHS professionals and regulators would agree.

It is significant that, if the comparative figures quoted above by the Sunday Age are accurate, abattoirs do not receive the enforcement attention that the construction industry receives. Is it that the construction industry is largely unionised and the meat industry much less so? Is it that abattoirs are rorting the immigration visa system as asserted by the Australian Meat Industry? Continue reading “Only animals should die in abattoirs”

Insurance company “fire-bomber” dies in custody

Almost 12 months ago, Paul Wayne Clarke “loaded a shopping trolley with jerry cans of fuel and set it alight inside a Darwin insurance office, injuring 15 people”. Clarke died on 21 January 2011 after a failed suicide attempt whilst in custody.

On February 2010 media report provided a few details of Clarke’s circumstances:

“The bomber reportedly goes by the name “Bird” and is a former security guard who worked at a Darwin pub until being injured on the job in October 2007.

He allegedly blamed the insurer for loss of earnings that forced him to leave his three-bedroom home in Humpty Doo and move into a shipping container.”

The incident was enormously traumatic for the 15 staff and customers of the Territory Insurance Office (TIO) who were injured by the incident.

The Coroner will be investigating Clarke’s death but the motivation for Clarke’s initial actions against TIO will remain a mystery. Continue reading “Insurance company “fire-bomber” dies in custody”

WorkSafe prosecutes Dept of Corrective Services and G4S

In June 2010 WorkSafe WA began investigating the 2008 death from heat stroke of 46-year-old aboriginal elder Mr Ward. According to one media report :

“A broken air conditioner forced Mr Ward to endure temperatures above 50 degrees during the non-stop, four-hour journey to face a drink-driving charge in court.”

The same article noted that in June 2010 the Director of Public Prosecutions Joe McGrath announced that no charges would be laid against two security guards over the 46-year-old’s death.

On 19 January 2011, WorkSafe announced that it

“… will prosecute the State of Western Australia (Department of Corrective Services), government contractor G4S Custodial Services Pty Ltd (formerly GSL Custodial Services Pty Ltd) and the two drivers involved in the death of Mr Ward in January 2008.”

WorkSafe notes in its media release that

“A Coronial Inquest was completed in May 2009, with the State Coroner Alastair Hope concluding that all four parties [listed in the above quote] contributed to the death.” Continue reading “WorkSafe prosecutes Dept of Corrective Services and G4S”

NZ Farmers rep enters quad bike safety debate

An opinion piece was published in the New Zealand Herald on 12 January 2011 concerning quad bikes. There are several points raised by Donald Aubrey, vice-president of Federated Farmers and chairman of the Agricultural Health and Safety Council that can be disputed.

“In the hands of the untrained or the over-confident they can be deadly. And quad bike safety is far from being a problem exclusive to the agricultural sector.”

From the outset Aubrey’s position is clear, the problem with quad bike safet is not design-related, it is lack of training and over-confidence. Training for quad bike riding has existed for many years and injuries continue to occur. At what point should more effective controls be introduced? Continue reading “NZ Farmers rep enters quad bike safety debate”

Category: death

Important OHS and legal issues in findings of South Australian Coroner into young man’s death

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Death in the workplace guide could have been much more helpful

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Local safety article reflects bigger issues

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Only animals should die in abattoirs

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Insurance company “fire-bomber” dies in custody

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WorkSafe prosecutes Dept of Corrective Services and G4S

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NZ Farmers rep enters quad bike safety debate

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