A coroner’s inquiry has found that the 2018 trench collapse in Ballarat that killed two employees was preventable and the evidence establishes that the incident was due to the employer’s failures. 21-year-old Jack Brownlee and 34-year-old Charlie Howkins died as a result of their employer, Pipecon Pty Ltd, failing to ensure a safe workplace.
As reported in SafetyNet 601, Pipecon were convicted and fined $550,000 in 2021 for a failure to provide adequate supervision, following a negotiated outcome where charges for multiple other breaches were dropped - the case did not go to trial, with the charge of not providing a safe workplace being dropped in the plea bargaining just before the scheduled trial date.
Jack and Charlie’s families were instrumental in the campaign for the Industrial Manslaughter laws that came into effect in Victoria in 2020. Following the criminal WorkSafe prosecution against Pipecon, the families raised concerns with the coroner’s court about a number of questions that remained unaddressed and the adequacy of the investigation and prosecution.
During this coronial investigation expert medical, rescue and engineering reports were sought. Of particular significance were paramedic’s contemporaneous statements about conversations with Jack on the day of the incident, which were critical to the findings of the inquiry.
The Coroner concluded Brownlee and Howkins were not in a trench that collapsed and caused their fatal injuries, but on the edge of the trench at the time of the collapse. The coroner concluded that the rescue methods implemented on the day did not exacerbate Jack’s injuries, with expert evidence showing that the operation of the excavator during the rescue mission didn't cause or contribute to Brownlee's death.
Dr Lana Cormie, Charlie Howkins’ wife, said, "I'm relieved that the fact that Charlie and Jack fell into the trench has finally been made public — I always knew that this was the case, but no one would listen," she said. "This finding confirms that Pipecon failed to ensure a safe workplace, and that Charlie's death was preventable.”
The Coroner finds that the deaths were preventable, however no recommendations were made.
Read more: Finding into death without inquest - Jack Brownlee | Coroners Court of Victoria
Coronial finding into Pipecon trench collapse deaths | ABCNews