In February 2024 LH Holding Management Pty Ltd was the first company to be convicted under Victoria’s workplace manslaughter laws (see SN703 article). LH Holding (trading as Universal Stone and Marble) was fined $1.3 million after pleading guilty to a charge of negligent conduct leading to the death of Michael Tsahrelias in October 2021.
Last week, Victoria’s Court of Appeals increased the fine against the company to $3 million after the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, stating that the fine was “manifestly inadequate”.
The maximum penalty for industrial manslaughter at the time of Mr Tsahrelias’ death was $18.174 million for a body corporate meaning LH Holdings’ original fine was just 7% of the available maximum penalty, with the increased fine amounting to only 16.5% of the potential penalty.
Mr Tsahrelias, 25-years-old, died when a forklift being operated by Mr Hanna tipped over and crushed him. CCTV footage of the incident shows that Mr Hanna was driving the forklift down a sloping driveway with a raised load.
WorkSafe’s investigation found that LH Holding failed to implement control measures to reduce the risk of harm. It was reasonably practicable for Mr Hanna to ensure that the forklift was driven with the load as low to the ground as possible, was reversed when navigating a slope, was only operated when other people were at a safe distance and was not driven across of turned on a slope or incline.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkins said the Mr Tsahrelias’ death was “a completely preventable tragedy – one entirely caused by the employer’s negligence and complete disregard for basic health and safety obligations”.
Despite the possibility of 25 years imprisonment, Mr Hanna’s individual penalty was to pay restitution of $120,000 and a 2-year 200-hour Community Corrections Order. Disappointingly, the OPP appeal against Hanna’s sentence was dismissed.
To date no employer has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment for negligence causing the workplace manslaughter of an employee.
Read more: Workplace manslaughter fine more than doubled to $3 million on appeal | WorkSafe Victoria