Less than a year after WW Masonry Pty Ltd began trading, an employee of the company was seriously injured in a preventable fall at a townhouse development in Keysborough. Company representatives did not engage with the process of WorkSafe’s ensuing prosecution, resulting in the Court determining the case ex parte (in their absence).
In February 2023 employees of WW Masonry were performing bricklaying services at the townhouse development. The scaffold that they were using had been modified with part of the platform being lowered, resulting in a working deck with two different levels – this created a step of about one metre. There were also missing guard rails on the internal and external edges, creating open voids on either side of the lower level of the platform.
An employee was attempting to move from the upper to lower level by climbing down the side rails of the scaffold when they lost their grip and fell backwards, towards the building. The employee initially landed on the lower deck but then fell through the 580mm gap between the scaffold and the building. From there he fell approximately two metres to the ground, landing head-first.
The impact fractured two vertebrae and collapsed the employee’s right lung. He also suffered bruises and grazes to his head and body. After undergoing surgery, the employee was fitted with a halo brace for six weeks. The Court noted that the employee was fortunate not to have suffered a permanent injury or to have been killed.
Following the fall WorkSafe issued WW Masonry with an Improvement Notice to revise their Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS). The company advised WorkSafe that they had amended the SWMS but did not provide documentation to confirm their compliance with the Improvement Notice.
The Court found WW Masonry guilty, with conviction, and sentenced them to a total fine of $32,500.
Read more: worksafe.vic.gov.au/prosecution-result-summaries-enforceable-undertakings