An Airport West food manufacturer has had their fine almost doubled after the State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) appealed the initial sentence as inadequate.
SafetyNet reported in May this year about the $12,500 fine imposed on Authentic Mexican Foods (trading as El Cielo) after an employee’s finger was amputated in unguarded machinery in November 2022.
The machinery involved in the incident was found to have been manufactured and supplied to El Cielo without guarding on the hazardous area. El Cielo should have, but failed to, eliminate or reduce the risk faced by workers cleaning the machine by installing a permanently fixed guard around the pipe.
CCTV footage from the day of the incident showed the worker reaching his hand into the machine's discharge pipe, where an auger was located, and immediately withdrawing his hand, holding it with his other hand and stamping his feet in apparent distress.
El Cielo, now in liquidation, pleaded guilty to breaching section 21 of the OHS Act, and was fined $12,500 (without conviction) in the Magistrates Court in May this year.
In hearing the DPP appeal the County Court highlighted that the fact that the machine was supplied without guarding in no way precluded El Cielo’s obligations under the OHS Act to proactively control the risk of workers making contact with the moving parts. It also noted the employee had been conducting a routine task that was undertaken twice a week when the incident occurred, as opposed to an unforeseeable or infrequent task.
The County Court increased El Cielo’s fine to $23,000. El Cielo is in liquidation.
Read more: Prosecution Result Summaries and Enforceable Undertakings | WorkSafe Victoria