Victorian Prosecutions:
Company, director, fined after fall fatality
Shopfitting company Entire Shopfitting Pty Ltd, was last week convicted and fined $300,000 after a worker was killed when he fell more than two metres from an unguarded mezzanine floor at a worksite at Maidstone in Melbourne's west.
The company pleaded guilty in the Melbourne County Court to failing to provide or maintain systems of work that were safe, and failing to prepare a Safe Work Method Statement before starting high-risk construction work.
Company director John Paul Kenneally also pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to take reasonable care, and was fined $30,000 without conviction.
The court heard that on May 19, 2017, two employees were directed to the mezzanine level of the worksite to start framing works on an extension for a new indoor children's play centre. One of the employees placed a stepladder near the edge of the mezzanine where no guarding had been put in place after the balustrade was removed. When the 55-year-old climbed the ladder, one leg of the ladder went through a cut-out in the floor, tipping him over the edge of the mezzanine and onto the ground below. He suffered serious injuries in the fall and was transported to hospital where he later died.
Read more: WorkSafe media release
To check all of the recent prosecutions, go to the WorkSafe Prosecution Result Summaries and Enforceable Undertakings webpage.